


A rat without their mischief is a sad rat

by Sophie_Vers



Series: Rat'sventures [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Case Fic, Child Neglect, Civilian Tim Drake, Detective Bruce Wayne, Detective Tim Drake, First Meetings, Gen, Investigations, Jason Todd is Robin, Kid Fic, Kid Jason Todd, Kid Tim Drake, POV Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake-centric, but is he really??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:08:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22200838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sophie_Vers/pseuds/Sophie_Vers
Summary: By a chance Bruce meets a young boy who quickly turns out to be the biggest mystery of the year. Every new thing Bruce finds out about him doesn’t add up. But the biggest revelation is that he seems to be in contact with Rat – an anonymous self-proclaimed detective who’s been helping out the police for months.Spoiler: it’s Tim Drake.Slow updates, sorry
Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Series: Rat'sventures [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615819
Comments: 348
Kudos: 905





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like I finally became a true fanfic author now that I've started a new multichapter story while already having one that's still ongoing. 
> 
> Tim is 12 and Jason 14 (Joker never happened!), I feel like it’s worth mentioning ;)  
> Bruce's age doesn't matter, let's be honest here
> 
> Check out the guide in the Rat'sventures series' description, there are two ways to go about reading this whole thing since it has one shots

It wasn’t often that Bruce Wayne found himself visiting Gotham's Police Station, at least not in the kind of suit he wore for WE board meetings. Besides the obvious absence of the mask, the fact that he walked into the building instead of lurking on the rooftop was also a big tell.

Bruce wouldn’t be there without a good reason that came in the form of a charity ball the billionaire was to host in just two weeks. He had decided, together with Alfred, that inviting some of the guests himself would be an appropriate move for someone of his status. So Brucwe chose a few people that were tolerable from the list of invited socialites and made his way around Gotham paying them visits.

James Gordon was the last person on that list and although no one would call him a socialite, Bruce liked his company enough to invite him to everything he could. He did that to spend time with someone he actually enjoyed conversing with, even if it was only for a short amount of time since Bruce was very sought-after at parties.

The Commissioner was busy, most likely interrogating the criminal Batman delivered him the night before. Bruce had been informed by some police officer that the man had been at it for hours, as expected from the man Batman trusted, but there was a chance he would be taking a break soon.

Gotham’s Police Station, as always, was bursting with life. Criminals who were being escorted to custody screamed of their innocence like they really believed anyone would agree and let them go. Policemen weren’t all that quieter, screaming back at them, shouting to their phones, some even arguing with each other. No wonder they’re so on edge, the constant noise would give anyone a headache at some point and with so many things happening at once no one had a chance to rest.

To Bruce’s far right there was a nervous looking woman who clutched her purse protectively in front of her chest. He’d probably go and try to comfort her, the need to help always prominent, if he hadn’t noticed someone in a clean suit making his way to the woman. Not a policeman then, probably a psychologist or an attorney, going by the arrogant tilt to the man’s demeanor as he looked around the station.

Good thing that he came, after all Bruce was supposed to maintain his carefree persona and consoling others wasn’t something that ‘Brucie’ would do.

Some other man, not in uniform, just sneaked up and stole the last donut from some poor officer that left it unattended on their desk.  _ That’s way too cruel, this guy should be in jail _ , Bruce thought wryly.

There was one person that didn’t fit in and as soon as Bruce noticed that he couldn’t look away, all of his senses zeroing in on some kid with messy dark hair around 9 years of age. He was currently lying on a sofa in the waiting area, holding a phone in both hands above him. He didn’t seem to care that his shoes were dirtying the place someone would later sit on. The clothes he wore were expensive, it was obvious to someone like Bruce but not necessarily to average Gothamites. The boy’s whole appearance was aimed at imitating one of the poor kids running the streets of Gotham, pants torn by a knife, not naturally. The boy’s phone was nothing special though, just some old Nokia.

Many things suggested that the boy was homeless but others screamed that he was rich. He was scrawny, this particular feature was evident even through the red hoodie he was wearing- that suggested malnourishment. However, his face was completely clean, without a single scar marking it. That was unusual for kids living on the streets. And if that wasn’t enough, the boy didn’t hold himself like someone poor. Bruce had spent enough time in his life with socialites to recognize when he was dealing with one. He was just giving off that  _ vibe _ , as Dick would say.

So far nothing added up with the kid and Bruce refused to leave a mystery unsolved.

He chose an officer that seemed to be filling her report, not hurrying anywhere, and acted on his curiosity. “What’s up with that kid in the corner?” he asked and nodded in the general direction. The officer looked up with a tired expression, her mouth opening, but as soon as she saw who was standing in front of her desk, she closed them and her eyes widened. She sat straighter and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Mr. Wayne-”

“Please, just call me Bruce,” he answered reflexively.

“Uh- sure, Bruce.” She was clearly overwhelmed by his presence which would work in his favor. People were often eager to reveal a lot more details to him than to some random Joe. “You mean the one in red?” Bruce nodded. “Commissioner caught him leaving a box in front of the doors. He thought it was a bomb at first but turns out it was evidence for a case we were kinda struggling with.”

Bruce gasped theatrically “Evidence? Where did he get it?”

“He says Batman asked him to deliver it.”

He certainly did not.

Bruce took another curious glance at the mysterious boy who still didn’t change his position. From the place Bruce was standing at he couldn’t see the kid’s expression but his body language was relaxed. 

He must’ve been so sure his lie would go through.

“That’s something Batty does a lot?” he asked just because he assumed that’s what an average person would be interested in.

“No, not at all,” she answered and as an afterthought added, ”we have one anonymous informant though, they call themselves ‘Rat’. They send random homeless people to deliver evidence, sometimes we even get completely solved cases. No idea who they are but since rats and bats are kinda similar we just like to assume they work together so we can sleep peacefully at night.” The woman shrugged.

He heard of Rat, of course, tried to find them even but anyone they contacted that had delivered a package for Rat seemed to be more than happy with the prospect of easy money that little job could get them and were unwilling to share any information about the unidentified detective.

Since Rat themselves didn’t seem to have any interest in anything dangerous like becoming a vigilante for example and did nothing other than support detectives with their insight, Bruce dropped the case in favor of more pressing ones. He still wondered sometimes who this person was and how the conversations they could have would be like. Rat seemed to find clues in ways Batman didn’t think of and it annoyed and impressed him at the same time.

Meanwhile, the woman continued. “It’s the first time someone came from Batman, if that’s even true…” Bruce could see her trying to put it all together as she kept talking. She’d make a good addition to the detective team, he should let Gordon know somehow.

“Why not just trust him? He looks like a good kid to me,” he answered naively. Exactly what Brucie would be expected to say, and watched as she shook her head as if coming out of a trance before looking at him with pity.

“Haven’t met an honest kid in my life, not in Gotham… that’s the first thing they learn growing up - to lie their way through life.” From that moment her eyes became more haunted with every word. ”Only the strongest ones survive, but how are you supposed to be strong when the only thing you eat is trash somebody else threw away and have parents whose job is to protect you beat you up instead and use all money on drugs and alcohol to forget-“

Bruce put a hand on her arm and squeezed gently to bring her back from the dark place her mind seemed to wander off to. Her eyes refocused on his and Bruce tried to convey that he really did understand what she meant.“Sorry I-,” she started.

“It’s fine, you must have seen a lot at work, it’s only natural to be affected by it. To be honest I’d be more concerned if you weren’t. I heard that’s how you become a villain,” Bruce squeezed her arm once again before withdrawing his hand.He knew from the moment they started talking that she grew up on the streets. He trained himself to notice and process all the information he could about a person the second he saw them and something as traumatizing stayed with people for life. 

No one liked admitting to being from the worst parts of Gotham. Bruce could never understand why, for him the fact that someone started so low, managed to get out of that mess and then lead a normal life was the most admirable.

“What’s going to happen to him now?” He prompted, changing the topic to put her at ease.

She gave him a thankful look. “Nothing, he’s just waiting here until someone picks him up. We’d keep him and check if his story adds up, but… it’s not like we can call Batman and ask him now, we’d have to wait for the night. Besides, it’s not really that important, even if the kid is lying, what he brought us solved the case.” She shrugged. 

Bruce hummed questioningly to prompt her to continue and she did. “Five minutes later and the criminal would be out of town, catching him would be a great pain in the ass, believe me.” She got lost in her thoughts again, but after a minute she muttered. “No reason to stress the kid any more then he already is.”

Bruce took another look at him. He was still playing with his phone, completely relaxed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

The officer seemed to have nothing else to add and Bruce didn’t have any questions she’d have an answer to, so they stayed in silence until the Commissioner came out of one of the corridors. The man must have been informed about Bruce’s presence at the station because James went straight to him.

“Bruce,” he said and they shook hands, “such a pleasure to see you again so soon.”

That wasn’t true, he had seen Batman three days ago, not Bruce, they haven’t seen each other in over two months. Commissioner has been hinting about knowing his secret identity for months now and Bruce kept pretending to be totally oblivious. It was their game and he was interested in how long it would last.

“Maybe time goes faster for you working folks, but for me it feels like we haven’t met in months!” The billionaire laughed loud enough to be heard by most people in the room, hoping to draw the attention of the boy. If he turned away from the phone and looked at Bruce, he could take a look at his face from the front.

Gordon only narrowed his eyes, but didn’t let the silence between them stretch uncomfortably “I’m sure,” he drawled. ” So, what brings you here?”

Bruce gasped as if he just remembered he had a reason to come. “Right! Just let me-” He took his chance and glanced in the direction of the kid while petting his pockets in search of the invitation card.

The sofa, to his utmost surprise, was empty.

Bruce didn’t let this fact affect him and just carried on with the conversation. He pulled out the piece of paper and gave it to Gordon while explaining why his presence at the charity ball was essential as he did with every single person who was graced with Bruce’s presence while receiving it. The only difference was that with James he actually meant it. He really needed him there, if just to stay sane.

At the same time, Bruce secretly surveyed the whole area in search of the missing boy, he really didn’t think it was possible that someone picked him up in seconds Bruce wasn’t looking but he couldn’t find him anywhere.

He made one final sweep before leaving but there still was no sight of the kid. Thankfully, Bruce had access to all and any cameras he wished, meaning that as soon as he came back to the Manor, he could start his research on the mysterious dark haired boy.

xxxxx

Not even an hour later Bruce found himself sitting in front of the Batcomputer, rewinding the footage from the police station.

He started from watching how the boy got caught. The scene went exactly how the female officer, who he now knew the name of - Carla, described it. A boy with a hood carried a medium sized box and put it on the ground before punching the door once and running away. It wasn’t exactly a smart move considering how noisy it was inside. No one would hear a bang on the doors leading Bruce to deduce that the kid has never been inside before.

Exactly 26 seconds later Commissioner walks into the frame firmly holding the boy’s arm even though he seems to be going with him willingly, not struggling in the slightest. Before going in, Gordon bends down and picks up the box, carefully watching for the kid’s reaction the whole time.

So he must have already told Gordon it’s not a bomb but evidence, the man would have been more careful if he wasn’t completely sure moving it was safe. By taking the boy with him, the Commissioner ensured that it wouldn’t go off the second he touched it because then the kid would try running away or admit to it being a bomb so he wouldn’t blow up with it. Assuming the boy didn’t have a death wish, but since earlier he did run away from the package that could be a bomb, this version seemed unlikely.

The camera from the outside was unfortunately placed in a way that prevented Bruce from seeing the boy’s face because of the hood, but he knew for a fact that the kid had taken it off at some point in the station because it was off when he was laying on the sofa. But before looking for another camera footage from the inside, Bruce checked if a report about the box’s content had already been added to the case files.

It had and the man was surprised to see that the ‘evidence’ was far more than he expected it to be. There was a bottle of pills with the name of the victim on it. It’s description didn’t match the drug that was inside. The victim had been seen taking red pills that were inside on multiple occasions, when the ones she should’ve been taking were blue. That was a real proof of intentional murder taking place, because her partner - a doctor - was the one providing medicaments for her.

All that information Bruce read from the notes that were included in the box. Every single thing the police would potentially need to arrest and convict the killer, his surname and where to find him, not to mention the address of the exact place the man bought the pills from, illegally. Which meant that the police could catch the dealers as well.

The notes were printed and delivered in the same manner that all of Rat’s had been. Bruce noticed some characteristic wording, like overuse of ‘therefore’ and misspelled word ‘acknowledge’ without the ‘d’. He even found some phrases that were exactly the same as in previous ones, the most characteristic being ‘That should prove the person’s crime’ as the last sentence.

There was no doubt it was Rat’s work. The difference was that this time, for some reason, Rat asked the person to say Batman was the one who solved the case. 

The kid he chose as a delivery boy, that was another big mystery. Rich kid dressed up as a homeless person. There was no chance Rat didn’t notice the disguise, they were a detective just as much as Batman and would immediately notice, Bruce had no doubt about that. And if Rat didn’t miss that, then he must have been the one to set it up.

One thing about Rat persona was that they helped the homeless with money. Bruce noticed the very same need to help he has in Rat’s actions. Rat could have been choosing random people that would be easier to work with than the tough folks from the streets. 

At first Bruce had wondered if Rat was just a villain playing around with the police and in reality they had been committing or instructing the crimes and then pretended to solve them, but quickly dismissed the idea. Most cases had nothing to do with each other, no common motive, they were also from various districts and Bruce knew for a fact that no self-respecting mafia boss would allow for someone like that to exist, they hated villains who couldn’t pick a side.

Something else that Bruce heard from officer Carla caught his attention. She said that five minutes later the murderer would have been out of town. Rat must have known that, so they were under a huge time pressure. They probably grabbed the first person they could and sent them.

This wasn't a revelation, it was obvious that Rat is rich since they paid all those people and had enough free time to work a detective’s job without getting their salary. The mysterious boy must’ve been the closest person they could send, the pair could be neighbors or even relatives. That was the first real connection he had to Rat from the moment they started working a few months ago.

Bruce could never describe Rat as sloppy, could never imagine how the boy they had sent would tell the package he delivered was from Batman by mistake. Rat must’ve instructed him to do so, that meant they could be in trouble and trying to draw Batman’s attention. With a newfound determination, Bruce played the next video, this time from the inside of the building. He watched as Gordon sat with the boy on the sofa and they started talking.

The only audio available consisted of the collective noise of everything happening in the police station so it was impossible to separate the voices. Additionally, since the quality was bad, he couldn’t see their faces clear enough to lipread. The kid did take off the hood, but the only clear part of his appearance was a mop of black hair on top of his head.

The moment the Commissioner stood up, the boy laid down in the same position Bruce later found him in. He could almost feel James muttering under his nose about ‘kids these days’ as he often does with Jason.

Bruce fast-forwarded the video, looking for the moment he came in. He found it hours later (seconds in real time) and remembered some officer saying Gordon had been interrogating a criminal for that long. That meant the boy had spent all this time waiting for someone to pick him up. The time, Bruce guessed, that Rat had spent on looking for a person to come for him since it would probably be for the better if his parents were to never find out about this stunt and Bruce doubted Rat would come for him themself (they could still be a part of the boy’s family).

On the screen, Bruce from an hour ago laughed loud enough to be heard over the noise. He had even drawn the attention of himself from the future, which was ironic. It turned out that the boy looked his way. The moment he saw Bruce, he almost dropped his phone, stood up and in mere seconds the kid was hidden in the safety of the men's toilet room. Which was not the reaction Bruce could have predicted, but now it made perfect sense. 

If the kid was rich there was a big possibility they'd met on an occasion or two, he probably got scared Bruce could recognize him. If Bruce Wayne himself called him out and revealed his higher status he wouldn’t get released so easily.

Bruce resumed watching, stopping around 20 minutes after his departure when a new person showed up causing a commotion in the station. It was a woman, a tall petite blonde in a short pink dress with a lot of gold on her and layers of makeup. She didn’t have anything on her, the lack of a purse apparent, so no documents or money either.

An escort, if her looks were anything to go by. She took a look around, drawing the attention of most men and some women present. Bruce let out a huff of laughter at the sight of detective Montoya who snapped her head so fast to take a second look at the eye-catching newcomer that she knocked a cup of coffee with her elbow, almost spilling its contests.

When the blonde didn’t find what she was looking for, she took out her phone that she apparently kept somewhere in her bra, which at least explained one mystery, and started tapping on the screen, uncaring that there were so many people zeroing in on her.

Just a second after she put her phone back in her hiding place the boy walked out of the bathroom, making a beeline for her. She tousled his hair in a friendly manner, they talked a while and went deeper into the station together, probably in search of the Commissioner.

How Bruce wished he could actually know what they had been saying. But even if he had stayed there for longer, that wouldn’t mean he’d get to know, because the woman had undoubtedly checked if Bruce Wayne was still in the area before notifying the boy to come out.

They seemed to have known each other. That brought a lot of new questions. She could be still hired, but Bruce highly doubted that. The kid let her touch him freely and Bruce was almost sure that a young kid like him would be at least tense in company of a woman they’ve never met before. Would Rat have sent another one of his friends or a family member in disguise?

“Ooh why are ya watchin’ Piper, she done somethin’?” Jason’s voice came from right beside him. Bruce knew the boy was there of course, he wouldn’t let himself be so lost in his thoughts as to let someone get close without him noticing.

“You know her?” he turned to his son and found him already in his Robin gear, ready to head out for the night.

“Yea, she’s one of tha nice ones, cares about kids an’ stuff.” Well that answered some questions - she wasn’t only playing a prostitute. Which also meant that if the mysterious kid was friends with her, he must have spent some time on the streets, enough to make her care about the boy. He’s rich there’s no denying that, but for some reason he had chosen to spend time with her instead doing whatever rich kids do in their free time. Bruce wouldn’t know, he’s only rich for the papers.

What Bruce seemed to forget before was the fact that the boy looked 9, 11 at most. How he got out of the rich part of town was another big question mark. Rat being his caretaker would explain the boy’s contact with Piper, Rat could have been taking the kid with them while looking for homeless people to deliver cases to police.

If someone had answers Bruce needed it was Piper.

“What would you say about paying her a visit tonight?” Bruce proposed and Jason’s smile widened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BIG thanks to tinn_tamm who beta'd this chapter and to Lilac_symphony for help! You make my writing so much better  
> ❤
> 
> What are your thoughts about this story? Any theories? I'd love to hear them! Please comment 🤗


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, a big thank you to my betas 💓

It turned out that Jason knew exactly where to find Piper at late hours, which concerned Bruce more than he’d like to admit. His ward had spent enough years wandering around Crime Alley to know every street and corner and Bruce had to admit that it came useful at times. Until he starts to consider the cost this knowledge came at that is, then it’s no longer convenient nor pleasant. The things Jason lived through... Bruce is fully aware that he doesn’t even know the half of it. 

But this wasn’t the moment to think about that.

They’ve already agreed that Robin was to stay nearby while Batman interrogated the woman. They couldn’t risk a chance of Piper recognizing Jason. The mask was a disguise without any flaws of course, but even that wouldn’t stand a chance with Jason’s distinguishable language and attitude. People already started noticing Robin’s newly acquired Gotham accent, someone who knew Jason would have a high possibility of figuring out who Robin really was.

The pair stayed hidden on one of the rooftops near Piper’s chosen spot. She was at one of the crossroads, Batman was sure she chose the place for a reason - it gave her more ways of escaping. Jason had told him that she was street smart and shouldn’t be underestimated so Bruce had no doubt that if she wanted Piper would be capable of getting away despite the high heels, he’s seen Selina do so many times. 

Batman was about to find out the truth of that firsthand. He made sure Piper was looking to the other side before jumping off the roof to appear in front of her.

“Fuck,” she muttered with resignation after finding herself face to face with the Caped Crusader. What surprised Bruce was that she didn’t even try to run, which was unusual. “I want ya to know that I haven’ done anythin’ illegal, I just like to dress this way and people sometimes get mistaken.”

Bruce would quirk a smile at the clearly rehearsed phrase if he wasn’t meant to intimidate her into answering his questions at the moment. “I’m not here to judge your life choices, Piper,” he grunted instead. 

“That means I can go then?” The hostility in her voice was prominent, her whole posture stiff. The use of her name must’ve scared her to some extent, it always worked, nobody expected Batman to know you by name.

“Not before you answer my questions,” he said and Piper scowled. 

“I’m not givin’ anyone away, I know better than to snitch.'' She shook her head, her gold round earrings swaying with the movement.

“Don’t worry, no harm will come to you from sharing the information I need.” Bruce refused to believe that someone as righteous as Rat would hurt anyone for giving them away, especially the woman who helped them get the kid they were somehow connected to. 

Piper only gave him an unimpressed look. “I have rules, I ain’t workin’ with no cops, yer not gettin’ anythin’ from me, Batman.”

Bruce ignored the urge to look down at his attire, he clearly wasn’t a police officer but he wasn’t about to point that fact out to her. If what Jason said about Piper taking care of children on the streets was true, then she would cooperate. After all, Batman’s intentions were to help one.

“If you care about the kid, then I advise you to change your mind.” Was what he said, which made sense in his head, but apparently that was one of those phrases other people misunderstood easily, because after hearing that Piper’s whole demeanor completely changed. Her eyes widened and she made an aborted move with her hands as if she wanted to grab him, but then thought better of it. “If ya done anythin’ to any of them I swear-”

“I don’t hurt children,” he said more forcefully than necessary. So many years since Batman’s first appearance and many people still treated him like another criminal plaguing the city. Batman had to be dark and grim, he had to bring fear, but not to the people he was fighting for. Much too often victims ran away screaming in fear when Batman came near them to make sure they were unharmed. “I’m here because I’m trying to help a boy you know.”

She was still looking at him suspiciously but it didn’t seem like she intended to attack him anymore. “I might’ve a soft spot for kids but that doesn’t mean I’ll tell you anything,” she announced. “I can hear you out though.” 

Batman took the chance. “It’s about the boy you picked up from the station earlier today, what-” He paused when her demeanor completely changed in fear.

“Oh fuck, I knew he’d get himself in serious trouble eventually.” Piper closed her eyes for a long while, probably trying to take a hold of the situation. “What happened to him?”

“Nothing yet.” The stiffness seemed to leave her body a bit. “But what he’s done today isn’t the definition of being safe and I believe that the person he’s in contact with could be in danger.”

Bruce was testing to see if she’d take the bait and admit she knew Rat before he confronted her about it. Rat’s existence wasn’t public knowledge, they were never mentioned in the news or any newspapers. Police made sure to keep them a secret. The only people that knew about them were the ones Rat has chosen and Batman believed Rat had contacted her today.

“Ya mean Rat?” She asked far too casually for someone potentially protecting Rat’s secret identity. Bruce could already tell she didn’t know it but she could still be a source of information about the mysterious boy. 

“Yes, I need to know everything you know about both of them,” he answered.

Piper swept him with an assessing gaze, biting her lip. “Ya promise that yer gonna help him?” 

“That’s why I’m here,” he assured her and Piper let out a sigh of resignation.

“Fine, that kiddo seems to adore ya for some reason, so I’ll give ya a chance. I probably know less than yer do anyway, I heard yer sneaky like that.” She seemed to consider what to say for a moment, then her expression turned angry. ”I don’t care about this fucking Rat. Piece of shit sends the kid every fuckin’ single time, this coward. Kiddo is damn too innocent to be runnin’ ‘round here. I’ll tell everythin’ if ya promise to make sure he stops comin’ here for good.” 

Making demands to Batman, that was new but what she said was even more unexpected. He nodded to signal that the deal was sealed, he was already planning to keep the boy away from trouble anyway. It was time to start the real questioning. “You mean it wasn’t the first time he delivered a package?”

That made her stop. “Ya don’t know?” She looked at him incredulously. “He’s the one that brings all of them.”

Batman’s eyes widened under the cowl. Would Rat be so irresponsible to send a little boy on the streets every time they solved a case or found some physical evidence for one? Besides, there was another problem with that logic.

“You don’t expect me to believe that street folks take a small kid like him seriously.” Batman scoffed and she looked at him angrily. 

“No, of course not. He does often just wander around here but with any packages he always comes to this one guy. Robert, I think? He deals with finding trustworthy people- well, as trustworthy as they can get ‘round here anyway.”

“No surname?” Piper shrugged in response. “I assume the kid didn’t introduce himself either.” 

This time she shook her head. “No, sorry.” 

She really knew little about him but there was still a lead he could follow. “And why would Robert help him?”

“Money I believe. That’s somethin’ yer should always assume is the case...” her face scrunched up in thought. “I don’t remember the exact story of how they met but I heard it was something big.” Batman hummed at her to continue and she did. “Some movie shit like findin’ his lost watch or gettin’ him away from trouble. Kiddo is damn smart, I wouldn’t be surprised if he picked up some skills from Rat. He could be watchin’ him work or somethin’.”

“Him? So Rat is a man?” Batman asked and she looked at him with resignation. 

“Ya really know nothin’, damn. Yeah, kiddo calls Rat ‘him’. If yer really this clueless I know somethin’ ya could use. Kiddo’s not from ‘round here, it’s too obvious sometimes especially when he’s talking a lot and you realize he’s allergic to words that have less than 5 syllables an’ shit. I always thought he’s from a different district, middle-class family. But when he sent me a message to pick him up, he asked me to make sure Bruce Wayne wasn’t at tha cop shop.”

“Which means he’s from richer parts of Gotham if he feared that Mr. Wayne would recognize him.” Batman finished for her. That only confirmed his previous suspicions. He expected to find out more from Piper but the kid must’ve been more careful with his personal information than he expected. 

Bruce couldn’t help but feel disappointed. It had been a long time since a case took up so much of his time. Not only was Rat great at staying hidden but his closest coworker - for the lack of better word - was a damn mystery. And he couldn’t possibly be older than eleven. Maybe Bruce should give away Batman and Robin’s roles to them since they both seem smarter than him.

“I wish I’d known more, but he doesn’t seem to trust me much.” Piper’s disgruntled voice interrupted his train of thought.

“That’s understandable,” he answered and her eyes narrowed. 

“What tha hell is that supposed ta mean?” 

Of course it’s smart not to trust anyone, is what he meant but it apparently came out wrong as it often does when he’s speaking. Explaining that now wouldn’t be the most dignified so Batman turned away with a dramatic flap of cape and grappled himself up on the roof to the place Robin was stationed at.

“You were mean ta her.” Was how Robin greeted him after they put appropriate distance between them and Piper. He’d been listening to the whole conversation through the comms.

Bruce ignored his complaint. “What did we find out?” he asked instead.

Robin only scowled harder and murmured something incomprehensible under his breath but answered anyway. “That every package Rat sends goes through that kid. He’s rich and y- Mr. Wayne must’ve met him before. We should find that Robert guy. Oh, and also regretfully Rat isn’t a woman.”

“Regretfully?” Batman couldn’t keep the amused tint from his voice.

Robin looked offended before straightening his spine, the action was very familiar to Batman who’s seen him do the exact move hundreds of times already, probably to look taller and more confident. “Yea, damn right! A badass detective smarter than ya? Of course they should be a woman! They always are the most badassest.” He exclaimed while waving his hands animatedly. “Ya should know that, ya work with Wonder Woman!”

Bruce had to wholeheartedly agree with that, Diana was the badass-est. But messing with Jason was more worth it than admitting that. “What you missed is the fact that the boy was the one to ask Piper for help after getting caught instead of Rat like we assumed, but overall - good job. Let’s head south,” he finished and didn’t wait for any confirmation from Jason before jumping down the rooftop. 

His flight was followed by the younger vigilante’s cry of frustration. “God I hate you so much sometimes!”

While the pair made their usual path around Gotham, Batman asked Alfred to search for Robert. Thankfully, the man turned out not to be from the Rat’s gang and was easy to find so Batman and Robin paid him a visit around 1am the same night. 

It turned out to be a complete waste of time.

Not because the man wasn’t at his sleeping spot or didn’t want to cooperate but because he knew even less than Piper did. Robert never even thought to ask the kid about who he was, didn’t even care what was in the packages. All he knew was that they needed to be delivered to the police station and he got money for himself and the person he’d choose to ask to make the trip there.

The first meeting that Piper couldn’t recall was in fact a quite interesting story, even though it brought nothing new to the case. A lost watch she mentioned actually turned out to be a missing person. Robert had a friend he hadn’t seen for a long time and complained about it to anyone willing to listen. He had no way of contacting him, so when the guy stopped showing up in the alley Robert occupied he assumed his friend was dead or had been taken away by the police. 

One day the mystery boy came to him with photos and documents proving that his friend’s ex-wife had taken him back in out of pity. That’s how the boy gained Robert’s trust. Of course the whole plan must have been directed by Rat, every move thought-out and careful, but one thing that Bruce couldn’t understand was why he had chosen a little child to do all of that.

Robert did say something else that caught Batman’s attention, but it wasn’t knowledge he could use in the future parts of the investigation. The man seemed to be impressed by how smart the kid is. He said that the first time he heard the proposition he was just going to take the money and scram, but the boy predicted his intentions and made him realize exactly how much more money he’d make if he ‘worked’ for Rat regularly. The kid gave him exact numbers.

He could still be only repeating Rat’s words but maybe being smart was the reason he got chosen for the job. He could be too young and unaware to realize he’s doing something dangerous, which made him easy to manipulate or Rat could have seen his potential and decided to take him as an apprentice of sorts. 

The latter wouldn’t explain why he kept sending the boy to do the dirty job exposing him to danger. He must be replaceable if Rat doesn’t try to protect him very much.

This and the fact that Rat made the boy deal with the problem of getting caught by himself made Bruce realize two things: a) Rat was not a great person he originally believed him to be and b) the chance of them being related was a slim one. If the kid could be traced back to him Rat would be more worried about what happened to him.

Even if the reason Rat left him alone to find someone to pick him up from the police station was because he believed the kid to be capable of taking care of himself that still made Batman think of Rat as irresponsible. It was different for him and Robin, Jason had gone through months of training and then months of mutual patrols before Bruce let him out on the streets alone. As far as he knew Rat’s partner was a common rich kid that was possibly smart.

It made no sense, why would someone willing to help others choose to continuously risk a child’s life?

Later, when Batman and Robin came back home after a relatively peaceful night of crime fighting Jason was sent to bed by Alfred and Bruce stayed up to look for the mystery boy’s identity with the help of the Batcomputer. 

He put everything he knew about him in a search engine. Which admittedly wasn’t much, just the fact that he has dark hair, comes from a rich background and is 11 at most. Bruce believed him to be nine, maybe ten, but didn’t want to jeopardize his chances just because the boy was older than he looked, so he settled on eleven just to be sure he’d have the highest possibility of finding him.

While the computer worked, Bruce took a minute to try and remember all the socialite boys he met. If the kid was smart enough to get noticed by Rat, Batman surely would spot him as well but he couldn’t remember anyone this remarkable. The boy seemed to be sure Bruce would recognize him so they must have met on more than one occasion or have talked for a longer while at least once.

There weren’t many boys he remembered meeting and even less he could tell the names of from memory. There was Gray's kid, Nelsons also had a son, Carters did, Parkers too, Moores, Drakes, Jenkins and Robinsons. He didn’t know any of their ages. With some he wasn’t even able to recall their faces, he never really paid attention to them .

The Batcomputer made a ping that announced its completed search. Bruce straightened in his chair and looked through the files. Seven faces met his eyes. None of them looked familiar. It wasn’t really surprising since the only part of the boy’s face he could take a good look at at the station was its right side. If the photos from school IDs also came with versions taken in profile maybe it would be easier for Bruce to recognize him. 

Additionally, the boy’s messy hair made seeing his eye color impossible so Bruce really didn’t have much to start from. He didn’t even have any special marks, no moles or acne. A clear face is also unique in its own way, but less recognizable than one with something on it.

After getting rid of the ones with any marks on their right cheeks or different shade of black hair, the count went down to three surnames. Jonas Robinson, Roy Carter and Samuel Rogers. Despite having three potential suspects Bruce didn’t feel the relief he experienced every time a case was going smoothly. He had an awful feeling that all the work they’ve done so far was going to waste. Rat was too smart to let something as trivial as the police database lead to him.

Or maybe that feeling was disappointment, because Bruce held Rat on a too high pedestal. After so many months of being a mystery, giving Batman a chase, making him go in circles, that’s how he goes down? That’s the definition of anticlimactic. Rat’s secret identity is just a step away from the boy’s name, Bruce could practically imagine grabbing it, but at the same time he didn’t want to reach for it. Didn’t want for the mystery of Rat’s identity to end like this.

“Master Bruce? I can see something is troubling you, sir. Please do share,” Alfred’s voice appeared with a cup of tea at Bruce’s elbow. His old friend didn’t even try to chase him away from the computer despite the late hour. He must have seen the children’s photos on the screen and deemed the issue more important than Bruce getting a decent amount of sleep.

“It’s fine Alfred, they aren’t in any immediate danger.” His choice of wording didn’t go unnoticed by the butler, who raised an eyebrow. 

“But they are in danger nonetheless?” he asked.

“One of them is.” Eyes boring in their faces again, Bruce realized that he shouldn’t have let his own feelings take over like that, he had to solve this case. His own enjoyment of having someone that could challenge his intellect shouldn’t be more important than the boy’s life. “At least I hope it’s one of them,” he added more quietly and really meant it.

If Bruce were to look to the right, he’d see Alfred’s troubled expression and realize how ambiguous that sounded but his thoughts were already far ahead. All he had to do now was wait. These three boys were invited to his charity ball in two weeks, that’s when Bruce would hopefully get all the answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh poor Jason, if only you knew how badass you'll think Rat is when you find out his true identity. 😔
> 
> Please comment, even if just one emoji, I really need to convince myself this story is going in the right direction, it's my biggest project so far 🙏💓


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been waaay too long but quality over quantity, right?
> 
> Love to my betas Lilac_symphony who's such a sweetheart and tinn_tamm with a m a z i n g skills, honestly I envy her so much.

The two-week wait before the ball went without any new clues appearing about the boy’s identity but also without any new packages from Rat. It wasn’t anything unusual, the breaks between them coming varied from hours, days to weeks but the timing made Bruce wonder if it wasn’t a coincidence, if Rat really needed help and waited for Batman to find him.

Hopefully, he’d be able to help him soon.

Dressed in one of his best suits and with Jason by his side Bruce stepped in the ballroom, immediately plastering a carefree smile on his face. Getting Jason in the suit was an experience that tired both of them mentally but now that the answer to so many of Bruce’s questions was so near, he was eager to start the search. 

The first boy that Bruce could cross out from the list, not even 30 minutes later, was Roy Carter - his appearance had slightly changed since the photo for his school ID was taken and it turned out that he’d gained some weight since. Quite a lot actually, and looked the opposite of what he was supposed to to match the profile Bruce had put together.

With two suspects still on the list, Bruce went deeper into the crowd in search of any of the faces he had studied over the last two weeks. He kept a special look out for any of the parents, since they were definitely easier to pinpoint. Children were practically impossible to find when they were surrounded by tons of adults who were taller and wider. 

Some socialites even joked that the easiest way to find your kid in a crowd is to actually step on them by accident.

Bruce noticed the poorly dyed curls of Mrs. Robinson that were on the wrong shade of red and could never be described as natural looking and immediately made a beeline for her, catching Jason’s eyes on the way. Bruce gave the boy a one-sided smile, which was their sign for ‘keep looking’. Normally Jason, who still wasn’t comfortable among big crowds of people with fake smiles and hated suits, didn’t attend big events such as this one. 

This time however his ward got bribed with the prospect of unlimited food at the buffet and a ‘badass undercover mission’ as he described it, so Bruce wasn’t alone in his mission.

As he got closer to his Mrs. Robinson, Bruce recognized her husband and son among the other guests that made up a small circle. “Nice to see you all!” Bruce exclaimed when he forced his way into the middle of said circle to get everyone’s attention. At this point no one seemed to mind or be surprised by his obnoxious behavior.

Bruce started greeting them, one after another, until he got to talk to his target. He made sure the family wasn’t the first nor the last people he talked to in the group even though he didn’t really expect anyone to be suspicious of him. It was more instinctual than anything. 

”Anna and James Robinson, right? I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages! How have you been? Oh, isn’t that little Stevie? Hi, hello, you’ve grown up so much since I last saw you!” Now that Bruce had a chance to take a closer look at him it became evident that Steve in fact was quite tall. 

Since Bruce only saw Rat’s errand boy’s height in the video footage, he didn’t know the exact number. ‘Roughly one third of the Commissioner and little less than half of Piper’ wasn’t a very precise measure but this boy wasn’t as small. Adding that to the fact that Steve Robinson didn’t look malnourished like the mysterious boy at the station, and unless a child could grow several centimetres and go from looking malnourished to healthy in two weeks, Bruce had solid evidence to cross Steve out.

That left Samuel Rogers.

There was no need for Bruce to talk to Robinsons anymore, so he didn’t pay attention to their answer. “Don’t forget to donate!” Bruce reminded them and moved on, finishing his greetings to the group before wandering off altogether. He wasn’t worried about offending them by not answering any questions targeted his way, Bruce already knew no consequences would come from his rude behavior. His assumption was only confirmed when his departure was followed by ‘Oh he’s such an airhead’ spoken in a fond voice followed by shared laughter.

While Bruce searched for the last boy he had to get past twenty other socialites, evade three elderly women interested in having an affair with him, listen to seven business propositions and laugh at over thirty unfunny jokes. 

To say he was exhausted was an understatement, and even though it was a normal state for him the socialites had the special ability to drain his energy faster than anything. All he wanted was for Samuel Rogers to be the boy he was looking for so he could at least stop paying extra attention to his surroundings (not that he would ever fully stop) and somehow survive the next few hours despite his pulsating migraine.

It took three hours to confirm with certainty that Rogers didn’t grant the ball with their presence. That was a big glowing sign if he’d ever seen one, but Bruce tried not to let himself get too optimistic. Just to be sure, he asked Alfred to discreetly check all of the turned in invitations in search for the one that belonged to Rogers. The invitations were required at the entrance so no one unwelcome would get in easily. 

Bruce was fully aware that if some villain really wanted to take a look at the ballroom from the inside they’d find a way in but he wasn’t about to make it easy for them.

It took a while for Alfred to check the cards and find Bruce in the crowd again but the butler confirmed the lack of Rogers’ invitation and that they didn’t send any declination either. It was likely that Samuel found out from Piper or Robert that Batman was on his trail and at the last moment persuaded his parents to stay in for the night. 

There was no reason for Bruce to stay and he was eager to move along with the investigation, so he started searching for Jason. They’d get home, read every document available with Rogers’ surname on it, then they’d learn the boy’s schedule, find a moment when he’s alone-

“Mr. Wayne!” A strong voice interrupted his thoughts. Bruce turned around, putting on a smile to look like he wasn’t irritated by the prospect of another conversation, and found himself face to face with the Drakes.

“Jack, please, we’ve known each other for ages, just Bruce is enough.” Over the years Bruce found himself being genuinely comfortable around Jack. He was a simple man, sometimes too harsh when it came to defending his beliefs but in general he was friendly and straightforward. Bruce’s life lacked people like that.

Jack’s wife in contradiction was a perfect example of a two faced socialite. Bruce had no doubt that she was the one behind all the decisions involving Drake Industries, he might enjoy Jack’s occasional company due to the fact that he was so easy going but the man was not the most intelligent.

“I wouldn’t, you know I respect you too much.” Jack patted Bruce on the arm in a friendly manner, it was so different from all the touches Bruce got from the guests that for the first time today he didn’t mind the contact. So far too many people wanted to grab him simply for the fact that they’d be touching the Bruce Wayne like it was some achievement.

Janet cleared her throat loud enough to catch her husband's attention. “Oh right, I almost forgot!” Jack laughed “Is Jason around here somewhere? We thought it would be a good idea to introduce our boys to each other, they are close in age after all.”

Bruce could barely recall a little shy kid with big round blue eyes hiding behind his mother, clutching her skirt tightly in his small fists. The last time Bruce remembered seeing him would be a good few years ago so the boy probably looked completely different now, the distinctive shy child’s innocence being just a memory.

“Exactly!” Janet chirped. “I’m sure they’d get along so well! I heard Jason likes reading, well, Timothy does too! If he could, he’d never go outside just to have more time to read. We can’t keep up with buying new books for him, there is nothing he likes to do more than read!” Bruce was sure that if he mentioned Jason’s favorite author, he’d turn out to be Timothy’s most loved one as well. What a load of crap. “Timothy has been so excited to meet Jason, he couldn’t stop talking about what they’d do together on our way here!”

Bruce moved to look down in search of said kid, whose presence he must have somehow missed, but before he even had a chance to do so, Janet interrupted in her too chipper voice. “Oh Timothy’s not with us at the moment. We came here with him of course, but I turn around for one moment and for the love of God he's nowhere to be found, I swear he's been right beside me, this kid.”

That certainly didn’t sound like Timothy was as eager to meet Jason as his mother tried to describe it, he’d stay close to his parents if that was the case. So far any kid interested in getting to know Dick or Jason knew that it was more likely to start a conversation with any of them by staying with adults who were experienced in maneuvering through the crowd.

Bruce decided not to point that out, instead he squished the uncomfortable feeling growing inside him every time when he was forced to talk with socialites as deeply committed to their roles as Janet and managed a smile that was as fake as hers “Oh you know, growing boys are like that sometimes. Actually, now that you mention it I haven’t seen Jason for some time as well.”

He really hasn’t, but that fact didn’t worry Bruce. There weren’t many ways for Jason to get in trouble around here. The most likely scenario was that he already made use of the buffet and was peacefully napping somewhere quieter. Besides, Jason was more than capable of dealing with most problems without Bruce’s help. 

If that wasn’t enough, the alarm that Bruce made Jason keep on himself at all times was silent. Bruce’s keychain would start buzzing if his ward activated it. He knew it, but still put a hand in the pocket he kept the small device to make sure it was unmoving.

“Oh, if they’re both missing, then maybe they’ve already met on their own.” Jack said good-naturedly and Janet’s smile faltered only for a split second, long enough to give a quick scowl to the general direction of her husband, before coming back two times stronger than before. “Wouldn’t that be perfect?” she asked.

“In the end it’s their choice if they like each other.” Bruce answered, trying not to encourage her further.

He had to agree on one thing though, it would be good for Jason to get closer to other kids. At fourteen, Dick used to bring friends from school to the Manor at least once a month, not to mention other sidekicks. They spent so much time at his house that at one point Bruce had to ask Alfred when all these kids moved in and if he hadn’t adopted one or two by accident. 

Dick always had been a social person, the boy needed to be in contact with at least one other human being at any time of the day.

Jason was the complete opposite. He didn’t bring friends from school, he didn’t even mention having any, the only people Bruce knew his son had contact with was Alfred, himself and Dick on rare occasions when he actually decided to visit the Manor. Jason also didn’t get along with any of the sidekicks, Bruce was sure it had to do something with them not wanting to let Dick be replaced with Jason. 

Bruce offered to intervene and got a prolonged explanation about why it’s always bad to have adults defend you, that Jason has an image to keep, a lot of ‘don’t embarrass me Bruce’ and ‘you’re helpless’ as well as tons of sighs.

Bruce understood, he really did. That’s why he only sent all their mentors a short, simple message (a threat, if he was to be honest with himself) instead of arranging a face to face confrontation.

Nothing seemed to have changed after that, not a single person visited the Manor grounds to spend time with Jason, not from school nor from the hero community. Jason seemed to be fine with it but Bruce couldn’t help but compare him to the contact-seeking Dick, even if he tried not to.

“Oh, but of course it’s their choice!” Janet answered. “I’m just so certain they’ll get along perfectly!” 

Bruce officially had no strength left to deal with her for a minute longer. “I’m sure. Now if you’d excuse me, I think I see Commissioner Gordon.” He didn’t wait to see their reaction before walking away.

It was only an excuse, in reality Bruce decided to look for Alfred, not Jason. There was no point in him still being here, in fact it would be unusual for Bruce Wayne to stay at any event until the end, even his own, but the conversation with Drakes made him think. If Jason hasn’t seeked him out yet then maybe he really did find something interesting to do or someone to talk to.

That’s why, to keep his cover (and partially because he was sick of the socialites), Bruce asked Alfred to take him home but leave Jason at the ball, partially in case something worth Batman’s attention happened. In the meantime Bruce would get to the cave and start looking for anything suspicious about Samuel as fast as possible.

Not even an hour later Bruce possessed all the knowledge available for him about Rogers' family, which unsurprisingly wasn’t much. Their bill records and bank accounts didn’t show anything unusual, Samuel’s father was a salesman, mother a secretary in a small firm that Bruce didn’t even recognize the name of. 

Their surname was known only because of their ancestors, the current generation of Rogers wasn’t anything special. Samuel as well didn’t stand out, with average grades at school and no special wins or prizes. So far nothing suggested his involvement with Rat nor the lack of it.

The breakthrough came after another twenty minutes when Bruce found an online page where his mother kept Samuel’s schedule. It was overflowing with extracurricular activities. Sport clubs: football, volleyball, tennis; music school, chess, swimming, even origami folding. It would appear that Rogers put all their effort into having their child educated on various grounds since their lives were unsuccessful. 

Every day of Samuel’s week as well as his weekends were filled with activities. The earliest the boy returned home was past 8pm on Mondays, later than his parents finished work so they’d certainly be home by the time he’s back.

Additionally, the boy probably had to spend time doing homework, so unless Samuel is a meta who doesn’t need any sleep at all, him being Rat’s coworker was very unlikely, seeing how little free time he had. Especially since Piper did mention that the mysterious boy tends to wander around Crime Alley. Bruce would still watch him for the time being since he had no other lead to follow but didn’t believe anything would come out of it.

He watched the feed from the station’s cameras once more, making sure he didn’t miss anything but once again all the information he gathered about the boy were the same. Dark long-ish hair, extremely skinny, small height and unmarked right cheek. Very possible acquaintance with Bruce Wayne, smartness and an inattentive family to be able to sneak out a lot.

The option about him being related to Rat was back for Bruce to reconsider, because Rat did take precautions to make the boy untraceable after all. The fact that his small partner wouldn’t come up in the police database when searched opened a possibility of Rat being a skilled hacker on top of his other abilities, which brought another question. Why use homeless people to send notes (not an actual object that was an evidence, but printed out notes alone) instead of sending them to Commissioner Gordon via email or putting it straight into the police database? If Rat knew how to make someone untraceable, he would be able to use his skills for other purposes as well but for some reason didn’t. At least Bruce had no proof he did.

Bruce wasn’t even disappointed by how easily he got outsmarted by the other man. Learning the identity of the boy who was the only real connection to Rat he could find turned out to be unsuccessful, but rather than angry Bruce was thrilled because that meant he’d get to spend more time solving the biggest mystery of his life.

A stray thought that suddenly crossed Bruce’s mind made him question the reason Rat tried to get Batman’s attention in the first place. At first he assumed that Rat needed his help, but the fact that he made the boy that impossible to find, even for Batman, wouldn’t back this theory. If he was in fact in trouble, he’d probably make it easier to get to him to get the help he needed.

Could his intentions possibly have been to challenge Batman? He did hold the status of the World’s Best Detective, if Rat wanted to prove his skills competing with Batman would be the finest way to do so. That, however, didn’t match the profile Bruce created of Rat’s personality. The man never showed any desire to be acknowledged or even thanked for his work. There was something missing in this equation, some detail Bruce couldn’t see yet.

His thought process was interrupted by a noise of footsteps on stairs leading to the cave. They were nearing fast and made an actual sound, meaning it couldn’t be Alfred. The only other person Bruce would expect to come down there was Jason, since he and Dick were still in a... disagreement, to put it lightly.

“Bruce! Bruce, ya hafta hear this!” Jason’s excited voice echoed through the cave, scaring the bats that hung high above their heads. 

“Hey, slow down, chum.” Bruce said, smiling softly at his ward. ”Didn’t see you much at the ball, you left any food for the actual guests?”

“’Course I did, I didn’t even get to the buffe- wait, it’s not what I wanted to talk ‘bout!” Jason let out a groan “Stop being so- ugh, you. There are more important things! I found him! The pipsquek we’re lookin’ for!”

Bruce’s eyes widened. “Are you certain?” he asked.

“Yes! One hundred percent. I met him at the ball earlier, I was tryin’ to find ya but Alfie said you had already gone home.” Jason managed to look annoyed while jumping from excitement. ”I noticed him hidin’ and we talked, it’s definitely him!”

Even though it was hard for Bruce to believe Jason found their target just like that, after almost two years spent side by side he also knew that Jason was more than capable and deserved the benefit of the doubt. Even if he was wrong, it didn’t hurt to listen. “Tell me everything that happened,” he decided.

“Okay, so I was goin’ to the buffet- stop laughin’ dammit!” Jason’s face reddened at Bruce’s snicker. He was right about his son’s appetite at least. “Anyway, on my way there I noticed a kid tucked behind a plant, bein’ suspicious an’ all so I went to investigate, like ya taught me.” Bruce hummed to prompt him to continue. “We talked a while, he was bein’ all smartass with me, it was definitely him.”

Bruce gave him a dubious look “I don’t think that’s enough, Jay.”

“But he matched the profile perfectly and wasn’t on the list you made! That’s weird, right?! Rat must’ve hidden him somehow!” Bruce felt a swell of pride, that was on actual observation, not just acting on feelings like Jason tends to do. ”And he was tiny Bruce, just like you said. I swear it was him, he had smart eyes just like ya and said he drinks coffee! He was you, but smaller, like a lot, lot smaller.” Jason’s cheeks reddened and Bruce wondered what he was getting so flustered about, but decided to leave that particular issue for later.

“Okay chum, I get it, we’ll check him out.” Bruce’s agreement resulted in the biggest smile he’s ever seen on Jason’s face that made the man smile back. “Did you get his name?”

“’Course I did, I’m a professional!” Jason puffed his chest out. “It’s Alvin. Alvin Draper.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the point when you can read the first one shot! It's about Tim and Jason's first meeting from Jay's perspective!
> 
> You'll find it easily in Rat'sventures series.
> 
> If you want to read this story like a casefic it is, you can refrain from doing so and enjoy Bruce's perspective only 
> 
> Please continue commenting, I've had such a great time interacting with you guys 💓💓🐀


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, my amazing beta [tinn tammm](https://tinn-tammm.tumblr.com/) who is an amazing person did an amazing job.

It took Bruce no time at all to type in the name into Batcomputer’s search engine, expecting it to run for a few minutes, he made a move to turn back to Jason. They had the best currently available technology but it still took a while to gather everything in one document. He didn’t get to spin on the chair however because the results were already on the screen.

“And you’re sure you haven’t misheard it?” Bruce inquired, eyes on the monitor.

“No, B I swear he said his name was Alvin Draper.” Jason huffed, clearly upset. “Maybe try writin’ it with two ‘p’s?”

Batcomputer always checked the alternate versions of names along with the original form and they both knew it. Bruce checked the surname anyway if only to postpone Jason’s hopes from getting crushed. With how excited the boy had been about his findings the disappointment was bound to hit twice as hard.

Bruce clicked ‘search’ and swallowed hard waiting for the worst. He had Dick figured out long ago but still wasn’t able to create an universal contingency for dealing with a sad Jason, he wouldn’t know how to comfort him properly. Bruce could only hope Alfred was close enough to take over if things got out of hand. Meaning, if Bruce said something he shouldn’t have.

“I can’t believe that little shit lied ta me!” Jason shouted and Bruce didn’t have to turn back from the monitor to know that he was stomping his foot on the ground like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Over the last two years he’s seen it enough times to practically feel when the boy does so. 

Bruce also didn’t dignify Jason’s outburst with any reaction, he had long since lost any hope of repairing the boy’s foul language, however there was someone who still tried in this household. Immediately after Bruce thought about the butler a theatrical loud intake of breath could be heard. 

“Master Jason,” Alfred’s scandalous tone of voice almost made Bruce smile, if only because having it targeted at someone else than him every once in a while was a welcomed change. “Watch your language, we’re in a cave not a stable!”

“M’sorry Alf,” Jason’s temper lost under the butler’s disapproving look. “But B, ya sure there’s nothin’?”

Bruce let out a careful breath, Jason sounded more determined than sad so no need to worry for now. He focused on reading the single file one more time and sighed. According to the information the last Alvin Draper whose feet ever touched Gotham's grounds died of old age almost sixteen years ago.

“Go through everything he said again, Jason,” he announced, which answered the boy’s question. ”Any additional information could be useful.”

Jason groaned. “But there’s literally nothin’ else! Black hair, blue eyes, he was pale like a ghost and freakin’ tiny. He was hidin’ behind a plant and never said why, he knew how many people were in the ballroom, said he freakin’ counted them and-”

“What number did he give?” Bruce interrupted.

When time stretched without Jason answering Bruce realized the boy must be giving him that look Dick used to. The ‘You just said something weird no other human being would have and I’m concerned’ look. Not to be mistaken with ‘I can’t believe you just said that, you’re so old’. Contrary to popular belief Bruce did pay a lot of attention to the people important to him.

“Ya really think I’d remember that crap?” Jason finally answered incredulously. Some looks must have been exchanged behind Bruce’s back because the boy soon added. “Hey, at least I didn’t say shit!”

“Now you have, Sir,” Alfred retorted, amusement clear in his voice.

That made Jason groan. “You’re a tricky one Alf, but I’ll crack ya one day.” Then he gasped. “Oh wait I actually remember the number, I just assumed I wouldn’t as always so said I didn’t but it was 174,” he sounded genuinely amazed by himself.

Not fully understanding his ward’s antics Bruce decided to ignore most of the sentence and focused on the number itself. He made a fast work of checking the records and soon enough the exact number of guests that day met their eyes. One hundred and seventy-four.

“Wow I thought he was talkin’ sh- kidding’. I thought he was kiddin’,” Jason finished with a nervous laugh. At that Bruce decided it was time to turn back from the monitor and look at the other occupants of the cave. The chair moved smoothly and soon he was met by the sight of Jason rubbing at his neck and Alfred looking at the younger boy with a raised eyebrow.

“One would think you would learn by now, Master Jason,” the butler said wistfully.

“Then that one wouldn’t be tha smartest,” the boy smiled cheekily and let his hand down, locking eyes with Bruce, his expression suddenly serious. “So, the kid has skills, that mean somethin’?”

“A lot.” Bruce didn’t elaborate. There was no need, Jason could get to the same conclusions by himself.

The boy gave him an exasperated look. “Ya gonna make me figure it out myself? Fine, I will,” he huffed and took a minute to collect his thoughts. Meanwhile Bruce observed him with interest, noticing how open and unguarded his expressions were. As endearing as that was, Bruce would have to teach him how to mask emotions soon, he wouldn’t allow Jason to live with such disadvantage.

“Okay,” Jason started, ”he’s clearly intelligent and that Rat guy you’re crushing over so hard is like a Detective God or somethin’. They could have the same relationship as us. Which is mentor an’ their handsome, clearly better partner working together.” Bruce couldn’t stop his mouth from twitching in aborted movement. Of course Jason wouldn’t miss a chance to mock him.

“What else?” Bruce inquired.

”Well, the kid lied to me easily... I just don’t know why he even bothered, yanno? He could’ve known Batman is on his trail and that Bruce Wayne could’ve possibly seen him at the station, so it’s obvious he’d want to stay away from you, both of yous actually.” Jason snickered at that. ”But that’s no reason to hide from Wayne’s ward, I wouldn’t have recognized his face or anything...” he trailed off before locking eyes with Bruce in horror. ”They know?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so.” Bruce frowned, his previous amusement lost. “There weren’t any Drapers invited to the ball so even if they existed, they’d have a hard time getting in and all that effort so Alvin could spend the whole ball hiding? I don’t buy it, we’re missing something crucial here.”

“If I may suggest something,” Alfred started and waited for Bruce’s nod before continuing. “Do you know what your biggest flaw is, Master Bruce?”

“Uh, I don’t believe it’s the appropriate time for counseling, Alfred.” They were in the middle of an investigation and Bruce could already hear Jason stifling a laugh, whatever Alfred was trying to get at it wasn’t the time. 

“I believe you still haven’t learned from your past mistakes, Master Bruce and I must remind you that you are not working alone, Sir. I don’t believe Young Master Jason was informed about every step of your investigation. I have no doubts you would find it most helpful to share,” Alfted smiled kindly but his eyes stayed focused on Bruce’s in a move Batman used on criminals.

“Yea, B! Why don’t ya tell me all about it so I can solve it for ya!” Jason exclaimed excitedly.

“Let’s start from the beginning,” Bruce proceeded as if it was his own idea from the start. “The boy was working for Rat and got caught. Then he saw Bruce Wayne at the station and hid. He was afraid of being recognized so he must have met Bruce Wayne before. Despite that he came to the ball and hid again. He was found by Wayne’s ward and lied about his identity. He risked a lot doing that, Jason could’ve potentially known there weren’t any Drapers invited.

“Besides, he shouldn’t have been afraid of Jason in the first place.” Bruce scoffed, there was so much information missing it made him anxious. ”We know he couldn’t risk meeting me, but the two of us never even locked eyes that day at the police station. Even if he decided to avoid me as a precaution, there would be no point in making sure Jason did not know his real name... He knew I saw him and that you were on a lookout for him. 

“He knew he was already busted the moment you spotted him, the fake name was his last resort,” Bruce concluded.

Jason looked at him sceptically. “Bruce could have told his ward about the familiar boy he’s seen at tha cop shop.”

“He could have but why would either of them be actively looking for him? On the other hand Batman and Robin were already on his trial, assuming either Piper or Robert informed him about us snooping. The capes were the people he was hiding from when he tried avoiding us and misled you. It’s a long shot but it’s still a possibility we have to consider,” Bruce reasoned. “The other unclear part is how the boy didn’t show up in the records. You’ve read the files, all the information I put in there matches Alvin?”

Bruce’s full attention was focused on Jason again. The boy blinked his eyes a few times before meeting Bruce and Alfred’s in turn and asking “Could we pull up that file again?”

Bruce narrowed his eyes at the boy. “You don’t have it remembered?”

“I do, of course I do!” He raised his hands in surrender, his tone of voice getting higher. ”You’ve asked me to, so I did remember it all but it’s still better to be sure, right?” He finished with a smile that clearly tried to convey sincerity that neither of the men present in the cave would let themselves be deceived by.

Bruce only sighed and put up the file without another word. He caught a glimpse of Jason's smug expression as the boy read the information in front of his eyes, he was under the false impression that his excuse got through. It was Bruce’s choice to let him believe he could lie to Batman, there were countless advantages of that little misconception. If he was to be honest Jason was the farthest a person could get from successfully lying to him. Bruce hasn’t met a person who could do so yet and honestly doubted he ever would.

“Ya excluded twelve year old kids?” Jason asked suddenly. Bruce looked at the boy but didn’t answer, the data on display was enough of an explanation. After a while spent looking into each other's eyes Jason growled in irritation. “It’s again that statin’ the obvious thing isn’t it? F-y-i that’s how actual conversations work most of tha times.”

Bruce had no idea what the three letters were supposed to mean, so he ignored them for now. He’d do the research on that later. “He couldn't possibly be older than ten, did he tell you he was twelve?” he asked instead.

“Yup, couldn’t believe that either but ‘ey, worth checkin’ right?” Jason’s original excitement started coming back now that he’d found something to go from.

Bruce turned back to the computer to change the age while Jason started blabbering “Oh man, wouldn’t it be freakin’ hilarious if that’s how we catch him? Like, you were going on an’ on ‘bout how Rat’s so good at this whole protectin’ his secret identity thing and hidin’ his errand boy in the system-” Jason trailed off as faces of the new suspects showed up on the screen.

The moment Bruce turned around to look at him he knew.

They got him.

Three days later at 2am Batman and Robin watched from one of the trees as a small boy in the same red hoodie Bruce had seen him before made his way out of his room’s window and down the closest tree. He had a black backpack that he cared about a lot, shielding it from some sharp branches with his own body.

This wasn’t what Batman had expected to happen that day. His best prediction was that both Rat and the boy would lay low for longer, with the threat of Bats looking around for them still prominent. Rat should have told Timothy to hide, that’s what Bruce would have done anyway and expected the other detective to act accordingly.

Another possible scenario Batman could think of was that the pair hadn’t contacted each other yet and only Timothy knew they were being searched for since he’s the one that meets with people Batman had interrogated. The boy could be risking going out just to warn Rat of the danger. That would be a wild coincidence since that was the first night they went out to watch Timothy’s house at night but craziest things had happened to Batman.

They would be incredibly lucky if they were to witness Timothy meeting up with Rat since Bruce had no idea how they contacted each other. 

He had checked all the devices at Drakes’ house yesterday when the boy went to school and his parents to their firm. He found many traces of Rat’s work there: printed out notes, the exact carton boxes used for delivering evidence to the police, even some unfinished cases Timothy could’ve been trying to solve like Rat. 

The search history on Tim’s laptop’s browser was full of questions about the details of crimes Rat had solved but what especially caught Bruce’s eye was the search for ways to find tracks of biological evidence without the proper equipment and right after shops selling metal parts designed for tinkering.

Timothy’s bedroom was full of Rat, exactly what he’d expect from Rat’s protege - that was evident now, Timothy learned from Rat - but the lack of evidence of any form of communication between the pair was what concerned Bruce the most. They had to be meeting in person since the packages with evidence had to be given firsthand but it was only logical to have another way of contacting each other in case of emergency.

Batman had planned to observe the house for at least a week with the main goal of planting the cameras in the boy’s room and getting to know their family’s schedule before taking any action but a chance at tailing the boy to his possible meeting with Rat was too good to miss so he and Robin followed him from afar.

Timothy moved through Gotham with ease, choosing less frequented roads and crouching to observe his surroundings before some streets, probably the ones he knew needed more caution crossing. 

The vigilantes almost lost his trail at one point when Batman let Robin lead the way but the man took over fast enough to still catch up with the hooded boy. The incident would be addressed later in the debriefing, for now they both needed to have their full focus on following their only link to Rat.

The pair observed as Timothy came to a halt in front of the place Batman recognized as Robert’s hideout. If there hadn’t been enough proof of him being the errand boy before any lingering doubts were gone by then. That also meant that Timothy must have already contacted Rat if he was out with another package for Robert to intercept.

Finally all the evidence added up, Bruce would sag in relief if not for the fact that he had to set an example of unwavering professionalism for Jason.

Timothy’s hobby was dangerous and even if the boy won’t be willing to share any information about Rat, which was very likely considering the relationship the pair appears to have, Batman had to make sure he’d be off the streets permanently and as soon as possible.

The real problem would arise if Timothy refused to stop. Batman’s first and foremost objective was to ensure the boy’s safety but there was much more to consider in this case. Firstly, there was no chance in hell Batman would give up such an opportunity to find out who Rat is, not after all this time spent on searching for him. 

That as well as the possibility that the kid knows their secret identities loomed heavily over Batman’s head. He wanted to protect Timothy, yes, but he also had to put his own family in the first place. Such knowledge in such a small fragile body - Timothy mustn’t spend so many nights in the shadiest corners of Gotham.

Before Batman had a chance to choose the best course of action he and Robin watched as the boy looked straight at the rooftop they were occupying. His eyes immediately widened in shock. That was unexpected but Bruce was nothing if not adaptable. He was ready to set off in pursuit when Timothy glanced back over his shoulder but the boy must have thought better of it and stayed in place, his posture stiff as a stick.

The exact same way Piper reacted to him, that’s something worth remembering.

Initially Batman wanted to have a seamlessly prepared plan before making the first contact but that chance was long gone now. There was no point in hiding anymore, they had to make their move before Timothy changed his mind and started running.

The hooded boy took an uncertain step back as two figures landed before him. That’s the part Batman was familiar with. Civilians were always easily intimidated and were very likely to start screaming and running. Unless it was one of the supervillains, those practically begged for Batman’s attention while an average criminal prayed not to be noticed.

What normal people certainly don’t  _ ever _ do is blink, eye Batman and Robin and smile.

“You’re really good, I haven’t noticed you at all! Have you been following me all the way from my house?” Timothy looked Batman straight in the eyes. Voice strong, at least as strong as a twelve year old boy’s voice could be, awe painted all over his politely smiling face even though his body visibly couldn’t relax. It made Bruce uncomfortable for some reason.

He chose not to address any of that out loud instead going for the familiar territory of interrogation. “We know everything Timothy,” he said in a stern voice. “And us being here means that what you do can’t go on any longer.”

“Yeah I figured,” the boy sighed and looked at the pair wistfully. ”Man, I really can’t compete with you after all,” he muttered looking away.

The resignation made Bruce hopeful, it would make him more likely to cooperate. “I need you to answer all my questions without lying,” he narrowed his eyes. ”And I’ll know when you lie, don’t doubt that,” his growl echoed through the empty street.

Timothy met his eyes again and waited until the sound stopped bouncing off the walls deep into the nearest alley. “It’s not like there’s a lot you don’t know already, I’ll fully cooperate. Just- not here, somewhere less...” the boy waved his hand searching for the proper word, “pro-eavesdroppers?” He made a move of pointedly looking at the blocks surrounding them.

It made Robin laugh. “Yer in a drama club or somethin’?” he snickered. Timothy’s eyebrow twitched and hands tightened in tiny fists at his sides but before what was sure to be a bicker had a chance to start Batman interrupted.

“The Batmobile should be here any minute now, we can start with less invasive questions.” He waited for a nod from the boy and then started. ”Are you being mistreated at home?”

That made the polite smile that seemed to be permanently glued to the boy’s face waver a little and Timothy glanced at Robin nervously. “I’m sorry?”

“Or are you being denied food?” Batman pressed taking a step closer to loom over the small boy.

After another look at Robin, Bruce turned to him as well and caught Jason staring at him with wide eyes. “Wow B, real smooth, way to be a total douchebag, ever heard ‘bout sensitivity?” Batman opened his mouth to answer but Robin didn’t let him finish. “Wait- don’t. I already know, it’s just a word from the dictionary to ya.”

“Robin.” Bruce looked at Jason disapprovingly. “We’ve talked about authority. This is a crucial question.”

Robin huffed. “Yeah, one that no abused child will just say ‘yes’ to.”

“Uh, if I may?” Two sets of eyes turned to Timothy who was even stiffer than before, hands risen in the international sign of surrender. “The answer’s simple, I just wasn’t expecting a question like that. I’m neither abused nor starved.”

“See, told ya,” the man knew Jason was rolling his eyes at him from the tone of his voice.

Batman didn’t acknowledge the obvious bait to an argument and gave his full attention to the smaller boy instead. “We’ll come back to that later,” he decided.

Timothy’s brows furrowed. “But there’s no need, I swore I would cooperate and I stick to my word.” He sighed and looked at Batman with determination. ”Look, I knew you would find me at some point and I had decided that I’d come clean when that time comes. All I want now is to come to an agreement.”

“An agreement?” Robin asked bewildered, voice cracking.

“Yes,” Timothy confirmed looking up at the other boy. “I won’t stop, but I’m willing to work on some arrangement in which you’d be aware of enough of my actions to be comfortable without rest-rict-ing any of them.”

The silence that followed was heavy and would probably last for hours if the Batmobile hadn’t chosen that moment to arrive. Batman hadn’t even heard the roaring of its engine because of how baffled he was. He chastited his own unawareness, it wasn’t often that someone managed to make this much of an impact on him. “Backseat, now,” he growled at Timothy before making his way to the vehicle.

The time in which Timothy took every detail of the car with excitement was a blessing for Bruce. It gave him a moment to think. By the time the three of them were seated inside the soundproof vehicle he knew what where to start from. “Is that what Rat told you to say?”

The boy tore his eyes away from the dashboard rich in colorful buttons and switches and looked genuinely shocked at the accusation. “What?” he asked.

“Rat. Is that how he wanted you to act when you were found out?” Batman pressed. “We know you help him, just the extent of said help is unclear.”

Timothy only looked even more dumbfounded than before. “I… help Rat?” he asked incredulously.

“There’s no point in denying that, Timothy.”

“I...” the boy looked nervously from Batman to Robin a few times before something like recognition appeared in his eyes “Yes, I- you got me, I help Rat.” If Batman didn’t know better he’d say that the boy was almost relieved to be outed which made him narrow his eyes in suspicion.

“You said you wanted to come clear, that would be the time to do so,” he reminded and watched closely for the smallest reactions on the twelve year old’s face, who took a while to think before answering.

“The agreement,” Timothy started slowly but soon he gradually sounded more confident with every word. “The part of it is that Rat’s identity stays hidden. Rat- he thought of it, but I agreed with everything, he’s not making me do anything against my will if that’s what you’re worried about. I am to be the- uh, the connection between him and you. I’ll reveal everything regarding me though, that’s what I meant by coming clean,” he nodded at his own words and patiently waited for Batman’s reaction.

The slight hesitation hadn’t passed Batman’s attention, especially since the boy seemed to have everything thoroughly planned out and never stumbled over his words before. “I can’t possibly agree to that. I need you off the streets and I need to know everything you do about Rat.”

Timothy only looked at him with resolve. “That won’t happen.”

As Batman and the twelve year old glared at each other Jason took his chance to interject. “I respect and dread ya at the same time,” he whispered and when Bruce took a glimpse at him the boy’s cheeks were painted in slight pink.

To say he wasn’t classified to deal with the implications of that was an understatement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! It's been a while, huh? But guess what I have a [Tumblr](https://sophie-vers.tumblr.com/) now! And I'm taking all and any prompts and asks and welcome dm's... yes I crave human contact. Please.
> 
> Anyway! Please do comment it's really the thing that keeps me going!💓🐀 What do you think about my take on Tim's character so far? I'm really interested!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the confrontation we've all been waiting for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a super talented beta [tinn tammm](https://tinn-tammm.tumblr.com/) but all the remaining mistakes are mine since I added content after her check

The vigilantes took Timothy to the Batcave but not before warning Alfred to hide inside the Manor. Although Batman was almost certain Rat had revealed their secret identities to the boy, they still couldn’t leave any chances.

After the initial ‘freaking out' about the Batcave as Jason phrased it when teasing Timothy, the questioning resumed, but if anything Bruce felt like he knew less about the whole situation than he did before meeting the boy.

There's a way to mock people without being very obvious about it, the trick is to never stop smiling. It's surprising how many insults people don't notice just because the person saying them has a sincere looking smile attached to their face. It's a technique more observant people pick up naturally, mostly socialites do since that's the circle with the biggest percentage of fake smilers. It did say a lot about the boy that he seemed to use it like a second skin.

Timothy smiled that over-polite smile just like he did on the street. He was also unwilling to give away much information despite his promise about coming clean. It made Bruce wonder if anything changed since then. It was possible that some new information appeared that made the boy change his mind, but for the life of him Bruce couldn't think of anything.

The boy did talk though, a lot, and talked back as much as Jason and Batman was left wondering if the suit somehow lost its intimidating qualities because of how unbothered Timothy was by his presence.

It also seemed that the boy couldn't shake the stiffness off from his body. Despite his greatest efforts to look completely at ease it was obvious that Timothy was anything but. The fact that he was scared but also arguing and smiling at the same time left Batman with a foul taste in his mouth/

“Timothy, you seem like a smart boy. I’m assuming we both know you’re not getting out of here before I get all the answers I need so you may as well start talking now,” Batman growled, his patience wearing thin. The observations he made himself weren't enough, he needed the boy's input and he needed it now.

“You’ll still take me back home before my parents wake up,” Timothy answered with no trace of doubt in his voice. “You can’t kidnap a child, that’s not exactly in your re-per-toire.”

“Can and will if I believe your home isn’t a safe place,” Batman answered with finality at what Timothy sighed.

“This again? I was telling the truth earlier, Jack and Janet are good people, really. I admit I may not know them as well as I’d like to,” he grimaced slightly and only when his perfectly trained polite smile was back in its place did he continue. ”But I coped, got over it.”

“Ya call yer parents by their names?” Jason interjected from where he was sitting on the Batcomputer’s console, swinging his legs back and forth. If Alfred was down in the cave he’d get frowned at already so he was probably enjoying the moment of freedom while it lasted. “If ya want us to believe yer family’s normal yer doin’ a poor job of it.”

“I’m just being truthful. If I wanted you to think my parents are perfect I would start making up fake stories,” Timothy pointed out, ”but I really do want to cooperate with you as much as I can, oh hey is that a blood analyzer?” His eyes practically glowed as he made his way over to the device.

Batman only sighed and closed his eyes in irritation while Timothy started babbling. They were getting nowhere, at this rate Bruce wasn't even going to be alive by the time they learned anything useful from the boy.

“Wow that’s amazing, it saves so much time! And you can actually know for sure it's the suspect’s blood, not just deduce it and pray to God you're right." A pouse "Hey, does it also tell you your blood type? Could we check mine? Because I can’t find my birth certificate anywhere in the house and it would be useful to know if I ever-” he stopped abruptly and looked back at Batman. “Not that I would ever need a blood transfusion,” he finished and laughed nervously.

Batman frowned “Rat doesn’t test blood samples?” It was a ridiculous thought. Whenever blood that didn’t belong to the victim is left on the crime scene it's like a dream come true. 90% of the detective’s work is already done for them. To think Rat doesn’t use it… that leaves him with far too many wasted opportunities and triples the effort he has to put in the investigations.

Timothy’s cheeks turned slightly pink for some reason. “Uh, yeah, he doesn’t really have the access to things like those, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” he mumbled and looked to the side.

“Tha only embarrassed one is ya, Timbo” Jason snickered. “But don’t worry, pink is definitely yer color.”

"You of all people shouldn't comment about this matter." Timothy looked Jason up and down clearly exaggerating the move. "Red, green and yellow? Seriously?" The boy raised one eyebrow to finish the blow and Bruce made himself uncomfortable by seeing Janet Drake's influence on that move.

Timothy succeeded in making Jason the redder one out of them. "Hey! It wasn't my idea to use-"

“That’s enough,” Bruce intervened before the fight could escalate. “This is interrogation, Robin. Behave.” The man turned back to Timothy but not before noticing how Jason rolled his eyes. “I saw that,” he said, which made Jason scoff. “What do you mean Rat doesn’t have access? How does he solve cases then?”

Timothy took a while to think that over, but finally answered. “The old-fashioned way, I guess? He’s not like you, he doesn’t have a secret base full of equipment." He answered slowly while making absent-minded circles on the machine with his hand. "Where the blood analyzer could be used he has to compensate it with something else - focus on searching for different clues.

"Sometimes it takes three different evidences to make up for one blood sample. Overall there’s a lot of logic involved, deduction, lots of books and articles. Lucky guesses. He’s still learning to be honest,” the boy shrugged.

Bruce’s eyes widened, “Still learning? He does all that while depending on his brain power only?” Unbelievable. For all the times he wondered what techniques Rat used that were so different from his Batman never considered he didn’t use any equipment at all. “And it’s ‘pieces of evidence’ not ‘evidences’,” he corrected absentmindedly. 

Timothy only smiled. “It’s all he has available. Honestly what you have here is amazing, I never thought I’d be given a chance to see all that... Is it really ‘pieces of evidence’? Well, that’s embarrassing.” He looked around again. "Hey, Mister Batman, would you consider lending me some of those machines? Maybe a few small ones? I’ll bring them back, I promise. It's just that they open so many possibilities, for Rat of course." He looked at Batman with pleading eyes.

"Do not change the subject. Rat doesn't use any equipment?" Bruce inquired.

"But now that I know you do actually have a secret base in an actual cave it’s no problem for you if I come over from time to time, right? For business purposes.” Timothy pressed with a pleading expression.

“Is that why he wanted to contact me?” Batman asked instead, ignoring the rest. “For resources?”

“What? No, he never wanted to draw your attention.” Timothy looked at him questioningly. ”It's safer when nobody knows much about you. Especially when you do something that makes bad guys eager to get to know you better.” He made a pause before adding ”I mean, from what he told me.”

It made sense and Batman of all people knew to respect someone’s secret identity but there were still many unclear parts. “The last package you delivered to the police station for Rat - you said it was from Batman, why if not to get my attention?”

“Ah, that, sorry about- uh, that.” Timothy looked to the side sheepishly. ”Normally there’s a third guy that I give things to but there was no time to meet up. The criminal would get away before the police got the evidence so I had to improvise. I went myself but I’m not- uh, it’s out of my exper-tise and I got caught and I… I panicked,” he admitted.

“You panicked?” Batman asked incredulously.

“Yeah man what the fuck yer like the chillest person I know, ya glare back at B,” Jason helpfully added to Bruce’s expression of shock. Again, Jason must be having a time of his life without Alfred’s supervision if he’s allowing himself to openly swear like that.

As if the butler wouldn’t find out about it, Bruce long since stopped thinking he’d get away with anything without Alfred knowing.

Thankfully Timothy didn’t seem to find Jason’s language offensive, he just continued his explanations. “That’s because I know where I stand with you. You’re Batman and Robin. I know you already have me busted and I knew you’d find me for some time now, so I had time to prepare before-plans.”

Batman frowned. “Do you mean contingencies?”

The boy's face scrunched up in thought “Possibly? Sorry, I still don’t know all the words I need therefore I sometimes come up with some. Just tell me if it's annoying I'll make sure not to use them with you.”

That sentence alone made Bruce realize another thing. The boy was indeed very young, older than he had expected at first yes, but still unbelievably young. He used big words by saying them syllable by syllable for God’s sake, what was he doing on the streets? And he must have spent enough time with Rat to adopt some of his habits. There weren’t that many people using ‘therefore’ in casual talk anymore.

“Not relevant to the case, continue." The revelation was just a side thought, Bruce still needed to know more about the day he first noticed the boy.

“But you just asked…” Timothy glimpsed at Robin before looking back at Batman. “Yes, not relevant, okay. Uh, so I do a lot of those contin-gen-cis. When Commissioner Gordon caught me I had nothing, it was so sudden and all I could think about was how I couldn’t let them know I’m- uh, associated with Rat.” The pause made Batman narrow his eyes, there was a different word Timothy wanted to use to describe his relationship with Rat.

“You come up with plans? Not Rat? How exactly does your cooperation work?” It was the main question Bruce had wanted to ask since the beginning. Now he finally had the chance since the boy started opening up more.

Timothy’s eyes widened slightly. “I didn’t mean to say that,” he admitted. Bruce could say as much but at least the boy seemed to somewhat hold his word about saying the truth. “How we work is what I’d call classi-fied information and my role in all this isn’t big anyway, not worth mentioning at all." He shrugged, clearly feigning nonchalance.

“You know a lot about Rat for someone without a big role," Batman pointed out.

“We talk a lot?” Timothy tried. “It gets lonely when there’s such a big part of your life that needs to stay hidden. It’s like no one really knows you and I have only… him,” he finished in a whisper.

“Timothy, I can see you’re very protective of the man,” Batman started, ”and prove me wrong but from what I’ve gathered so far Rat isn’t the most responsible when it comes to ensuring your safety. He leaves you to deal with too many things by yourself. If I had to guess I'd say you can count only on yourself the moment a package leaves Rat's hands.”

“That’s not fair,” Timothy sounded irritated at the accusation. The longer they talked the more strained his smile looked and more of his real emotions showed, Batman noted with relief. He could still be saved from that part of his upbringing. “I can take care of myself,” the boy finished.

“And we understand that. But the thing is, you shouldn’t be put in a situation where you need to take care of yourself in the first place. If you have a reason to be putting yourself in danger for him you can tell us, we’ll help you.” Batman changed his stance to a less threatening and more open one. He doubted it would do anything for the boy who already proved he’s not intimidated but old habits die hard.

“B’s right,” Jason jumped off the console and spread his hands in the sign of sincerity. ”I know he’s not good at bein’ reassurin’. He’s bad at any humanly act of kindness but I promise ya he’s serious. If that Rat guy is makin’ ya do all this stuff against your will or anythin’ we’re here to help.”

Timothy looked frantically between the two of them, visibly distressed. “Okay, no,” his eyes finally stayed on Batman. “That’s not what I- I don’t even know how you-” he took a deep breath. “You’re so so wrong. I do all this because I want to.”

“Why would you possibly want to continuously endanger your life like this?” Batman asked.

“Why would you?” Timothy countered squaring his arms as if readying himself for a fight. “I don’t want you to think I’m putting myself on the same level as you, because I’m not. I know I’m not really important, not in the big picture, but I still want to help somehow." Timothy glanced at both of them to make sure he had their unwavering attention and then continued.

"Any opportunity I have, I’ll take it, because I found something I’m good at. Something not many are willing to do and that something means everything to me. I won’t give it away. I won’t let it be taken away from me,” he looked Batman straight in the eyes, daring him to disagree but both vigilantes were still too bewildered to react.

“The thing-” Jason started uncertainty after a while of complete silence, “the thing you’re good at, it’s deliverin’ evidence from Rat to that Robert guy?”

Tim visibly deflated at that and for the first time this night looked honestly uncertain. “Uh, apparently?”

“Normally that would be the moment when I start laughin’ but ya made it sound so important I actually don’t have tha heart to,” Jason admitted.

“That’s not all, it can’t be.” Batman, having come back to his senses, pressed.

Timothy took a deep breath before answering. “He also teaches me?” He looked expectantly at Batman as if waiting for confirmation but then continued despite not getting any. ”I come up with my own plans because he taught me how to do it first, he shows me how the detective’s work looks, how to do it step by step, that’s why I- uh, know some things.”

“When do you have time for all this? You’re still in school and live with your parents so unless Jack is Rat I don’t see how that’s possible.” Bruce didn’t mention that out of all the Drakes he’d sooner expect Janet to secretly be a super intelligent detective. But she’d never do charity work, that he was sure of.

“My parents… they aren’t around much, they travel." At Bruce’s quizzical expression he started explaining the situation further, ”They’re gone for weeks at a time, you’d find out anyway as soon as you looked at their credit bank card history or some other way, which you didn’t get around to doing yet I suppose.

"And it’s not like they’re doing something wrong. My home is always full of food and we have a driver that takes me to school every day, Mrs. Mac stopped coming over some time ago but that’s fine. I don’t have to sneak out anymore, most of the time I just go out through the front doors.”

Which made it all worse and scarier. How can parents leave their child unsupervised enough that they start hanging out with one of the biggest mysteries Batman has ever encountered. And now the boy also met Batman and Robin in person.

“That’s why I can't stop.” Timothy kept being persistent ”I’d go crazy if it wasn’t for Rat. There’s only this much time you can spend alone in a big empty house without getting long-term con-seq-whences,” he took a deep breath ”I need this. I have a purpose, it’s like a dream come true and I love every second of it.”

“I get that,” Jason added suddenly, startling both Timothy and Batman, “that’s how I feel every night we’re out, B.” He looked up with such an earnest expression it almost took Bruce’s breath away. It wasn’t often that Jason showed vulnerability and he cherished every second of it.

He hated to be the bearer of bad news when both boys had their wide eyes on him but the reality was, no matter how much Timothy wanted it, a life like that wasn’t suited for a twelve year old civilian. Even for one as extraordinary as Timothy Drake.

It didn’t mean that Bruce would leave him alone either, not now that he’d learned the boy is being neglected. What made it even worse, Timothy made himself believe there’s nothing bad about his parents’ behavior. A child making excuses for their parents’ inattentiveness is one of the glaring signs that the neglect has gone too far already.

“I can see Rat has taught you well,” he started carefully, “but well isn’t enough, not when there are so many criminals in Gotham just waiting for a boy like you to come their way. You’re not trained and you’ve already learned that being smart won’t always save you from getting in trouble." He let that sink in for a minute observing how light started slowly dying in Timothy’s eyes.

“What if he works with us?” Jason asked suddenly.

“Robin-” Bruce started but wasn’t able to get a word in because Jason continued talking feverishly.

“No really, listen, it’s doable,” he started with a newfound resolve. ”Ya wanted to have contact with Rat for ages and here it is, standing right in front of ya, offerin’ to cooperate. Don’t tell me yer just going to lose a chance like that. We can all work together! Timmy here can give whatever Rat finds straight to us instead of Robert so he won’t need to be runnin' the streets and he’d still keep on workin' with Rat. It’s a win win situation!” Jason was wildly grinning now while Timothy seemed to seriously consider it.

“That sounds reasonable,” the younger boy joined in. “I’d be safe that way, so you lose all the arguments against me working with Rat." Hope sparkled in his eyes.

“And we could train him when he comes over as a bonus, if that would make ya feel better,” Jason added. “Basic self-defense and then jujitsu maybe? I’d totally want to see this little shit get his ass handled,” he smirked.

“Uh, I don’t know if I want to agree to that part,” Timothy backed away slightly eyeing the older boy worryingly, “but I’d totally be up to borrowing that tech I mentioned. It’s a good deal, Batman. You let me have the gadgets and get cases solved in exchange.”

“Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to consider,” Bruce addressed the boys before bringing up his hand to massage the sides of his forehead. He never thought he’d have to deal with two enthusiastic Jasons at once, he wasn’t cut out for this.

His son's reaction was immediate. "Oh here he comes, of course he's gonna ruin it," Jason grumbled.

“We don’t know if the conditions Timothy meets Rat under are safe. We can’t keep bringing him in here every time Rat has something for us, we don’t have this much time to spare to ensure he can’t track the road here and besides we still haven’t talked about his parents enough to-”

“Oh none of those are problems at all,” Timothy started and he too was grinning now, just like Jason earlier. “I’m totally safe, Rat’s not from any bad side of town. And I can just come over here myself, could have for a while actually. You won’t waste any time getting me.” And then added under his breath in awe. “That really is all I could ever ask for in life, getting to keep helping people and working with Batman and Robin.”

“Are you implying-” Bruce started.

“Yes, totally, now you have no choice but to keep me close, Mr. Wayne. And please, call me Tim," he smiled widely while raising his hand for a handshake.

And if it wasn't obvious earlier it was now, Batman got bested by children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you read the story chronically it's time for the second one shot 'Bird's night thoughts'! If not, just proceed with the main story 
> 
> If you have no idea what I'm talking about check out the guide in my Rat'sventures series description 😉
> 
> Visit me on [Tumblr](https://sophie-vers.tumblr.com/), I'm taking all and any prompts and asks and welcome dm's... yes I crave human contact. Please.
> 
> How is Timmy's character so far? Do you think I make him justice? Please let me know! 🥺


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't seen I've uploaded another one shot in Rat'sventures series set before this chapter. It's called 'Bird's night thoughts'
> 
> Big big thanks to my beta [tinn tammm](https://tinn-tammm.tumblr.com/) ♥️ she's magic

Too soon it was 5am already and Bruce couldn't risk keeping Timothy at the Manor for any longer, so he drove the boy back to his house and watched as he climbed the tree back to his room.

Bruce ended up lending him the compact blood analyzer as well as a few other light tools, to which the boy reacted with a high-pitched squeal. It would be endearing to watch if not for the bats that reacted to the noise like they thought it came from one of their own kind. 

Needless to say, now Bruce knew what noise possibly signalled 'great danger, scram' in bats' language. Although he'd ever be able to repeat it. Maybe Jason would soon since his voice was slowly starting to break in. And if the process went any similar to how Dick's voice changed it'd be very similar to a bat screech indeed.

Talking with Timothy for the first time was… interesting. Bruce hoped to find out everything he could about Rat from the boy but that... didn't happen, to put it simply. And now he was left with a twelve year old boy who knows their secret identities that refuses to cooperate.

He can't even lock the boy away permanently because that would mean severing Bruce's only tie to Rat. And he doesn't have a habit of sabotaging his own investigations, especially when he's closer than ever to finding out the mystery behind Rat.

The fact that Timothy holds the answer doesn't mean Bruce will stop searching for it on his own. That's why, despite Alfred's disapproving look, at 5:30am he started the search again with the newfound information.

'Rat’s not from any bad side of town' Timothy had said. Which wasn't a revelation, after all he was constantly paying the homeless to deliver the packages.

'He’s not like you, he doesn’t have a secret base full of equipment' that excludes all doctors, scientists, working detectives. Although why Rat hasn't bought any tools despite having money is still a mystery to Bruce, the only thing he knows for sure is that the man uses is a camera. 

Bruce analyzed all of the photos Rat has given the police, but he might as well never have done that and save some time. The photographer was good. Not a single shot had their reflection on a mirror or a window, the photos were also taken from different heights, although more often on the shorter side.

'I come up with my own plans because he taught me how to do it.' A confirmation that their relationship is close. Throughout the whole talk Timothy was also very protective of the man and refused to acknowledge Rat was putting him in danger.

In conclusion, Bruce learned shit. How the hell did the interrogation go so wrong is beyond him. Unless Timothy was a master manipulator, which was unlikely, Bruce must've been extremely out of the game yesterday.

If he had a list of potential identities for Rat he could've at least cross out those people who worked in the mentioned professions, but he had  _ nothing _ .

Not to wound his ego too much, it's worth mentioning that Bruce at least learned more information about Timothy. Some very disturbing information.

His main concern with the boy now being his clearly neglectful parents and not the reckless lifestyle he chose for himself by helping Rat says a lot. Timothy wouldn't need to search for validation from outsiders if he had gotten it from his family. 

Bruce would have to come up with the best course of action for helping the boy. The issue of him going out to was actually easier to solve than the one with his parents. 

If Bruce was to notify the authorities, he's sure the Drakes would make everything look perfect for their visit. After all they've spent years building up a perfect facade of a loving family. 

Bruce Wayne himself couldn't do much, how would he have found out about the neglect? Why would the carefree guy like him care? People still think him adopting Dick and then Jason were only the whims of a rich guy, nothing more. Fighting in court for Timothy would bring too many questions Bruce wasn't willing to answer.

Besides, he didn't want to deprive Timothy of his parents' care, albeit questionable. The safest option he could think of at the moment was to let the boy stay at the Manor whenever his parents were away without them knowing. And Bruce knew for a fact that Timothy could keep going out so that they'd never find out.

It's still hard to imagine the good, straightforward guy Jack cares so little about his son. Janet on the other hand… there was always something unsettling about her. He'd have to ask the boy more about them before making the final decision.

  
  


xxxxx

  
  


Twelve hours after they let Timothy go back home the boy came back. With two new solved cases. Plus the one that he tried to give to Robert the other night but then forgotten to actually share the details with Batman. This didn’t actually surprise Bruce, last night must have been difficult for him, having gone through changes that were sure to affect his whole life.

The thought of a twelve year old boy smaller than an average ten year old held such a valuable secret still terrified the man. How much could be done with that knowledge, not even by Timothy himself but by the people who could find out there’s someone bearing it was unimaginable. 

Timothy was in danger too and not for the first time Bruce wondered what the hell was Rat thinking, sharing information like that with a child. It was obvious that Rat trusted him, but did he not care about the boy’s safety?   


“I see the equipment I lent Rat was put to good use” Bruce commented from where he sat at the desk when Alfred brought the boy to Bruce’s office room in the Manor. Timothy had his little hands full of papers and a barely zipped black backpack.

“Oh you have no idea, I was so excited I had to try them right away and I- watched as Rat worked” Again with the pause, Bruce filed all those times Timothy hesitated to analyze for later. Now that he knew for sure they’d spend more time together there was no rush, finally nothing to chase, so he could figure out the boy piece by piece while learning more about Rat as well.

“Hm. So what do you have here?” He could already guess but Bruce had learned after millions of awkward situations that letting the other part talk as much as he could was always the better option.   
  
“Oh, just some cases Rat solved, three I think. The blood analyzer really does make everything easier” his eyes were all but shining from excitement. “Oh and Rat picked up a fresh case this morning. Jane Doe from the river, we’ve got her name actually, it’s Marina Davis.”   
  
Bruce’s eyes widened “I can’t say I’ve heard that name before.” That’s something that definitely didn’t happen often, which made him uncomfortable, he was suppose to be the smartest person in the room.

Dick would say it’s his control issues, but it’s just that it’s always better to have an advantage over others. Which is different.

“Oh, really?!” Timothy seemed even more excited now. He started spreading the appropriate files on Bruce’s desk unceremoniously covering what the man was working on before he came in. “You probably follow the official missing-persons list the police makes but there’s also an unofficial one made by those few guys from the Bowery therefore it contains people who were never reported missing, because the community doesn’t trust the police, which is totally understandable by the way-”   


“That’s unfair” Bruce intervened “there are good cops out there.”

“Yes, exactly seventeen" Timothy nodded.   
  
Bruce raised an eyebrow “What’s that based on?”   
  
“Rat’s own subjective list, it’s mostly based on his own experience with policemen and articles from newspapers” the boy’s nose scrunched “Although I believe George Rack started to break recently, he could change sides soon.” 

At Bruce’s questioning look Timothy started to explain further. ”He acts differently after his family was threatened. It could only be stress, but it’s still worth looking into. And I’m pretty sure Caroline Hobbs has a new crush on Penguin,” he grimaced “which just, ew. But my point is, if he ever shows interest in her, she’ll be gone too.”

However much Bruce wanted, he never found time for everything that needed his attention and watching every single cop this close was impossible for Batman. The only two he trusted were Commissioner Gordon and Detective Montoya. He knew the surnames Timothy mentioned of course, knew which department they were in, but that’s about it.

He’d never thought that Rat also took time to observe the cops on top of everything he was doing. But it makes sense now that he thinks about it. 

The packages were never addressed to a specific cop but Bruce noticed that when some of them were given Rat's cases, the same package was sent again with their name crossed out. Now he knows Rat wanted someone who’d actually do their job to pick up the case.

And the fact that Timothy knows this much would mean that Rat has taught him who to trust. That could be his way of caring about the boy, not how Batman would prefer him to but still. He was one to talk anyway, having trained not one but two Robins now. 

Timothy remembering so many details was also impressive. The insight provided by him would be even more useful than he imagined, but for now more than anything he wanted to learn as much as he could about his rival detective. “Newspapers?” he inquired.  
  
“Yeah, they publish articles about some cases,” Timothy started ”they aren’t all real of course, sometimes they’re setups, you know? Criminals pay the policemen to take someone else instead of them and the wrong person gets arrested.”  
  
Of course he knew, that shouldn’t be even a question. “And Rat can tell which cases were solved truthfully?” he asked instead.  
  
“Well, it’s not that he can tell immediately” the boy drawled in thought ”It’s not based on intuition. He just solves those cases himself from scratch without the police’s influence. Anyway, the case I talked about.” he pointed at one of the documents. “I met with the guys for the updated list and Marina was one of the-”  
  
“ _You_ went to speak with them? To _The Bowery_?” Bruce immediately asked.

Timothy looked taken aback by the sudden question. “I did, I’m Rat’s contact with the world… that’s what we established right?” he seemed almost nervous while he asked it.   
  
“Rat's contact with Robert,” Bruce accepted ”but we also agreed you’re not to go out alone.”   
  
“I can’t be asking for your help with every little thing” Timothy said incredulously, ”Besides, no one would tell me anything with a caped chap-e-rone. They’d attack you or run away, Rat on the other hand has made a name for himself on the streets, they know me.”

“Then we find another way” Bruce pressed ”The fact that they know you is what concerns me. I to let you keep working but only under my conditions and the second I take my eyes off you, you break the most basic rule I established.” He should have expected it, should have seen that the boy was too devoted to his hobby to limit his actions.

“Listen” Timothy rose on the balls of his feet as he visibly started getting agitated. Probably not consciously, but he tried to make himself seem bigger. “If I’m seen anywhere with you, those guys' trust in me will be broken. I can’t risk that.

“I see your point” Bruce allowed, because the boy was smart, he wouldn’t be deceived by a simple ‘it will be fine, trust me I’m Batman’, he knew ”but there are other options. We could go undercover, Jason could accompany you, you don’t have to be in it alone.”   


“Can you stop? I’m trying to-”  
  
“Let’s not waste time, just give me the files. They will be more detailed than what you’ve remembered” that made Timothy stop and a hurt expression made its way to his face. Which was uncalled for, what Bruce had said was true after all. “Right now the only thing we have to talk about is how reckless you are.” Because he needed to keep the boy safe.  
  
“Waste of time” Timothy echoed like he was in daze “Right, sorry I don’t know why I presumed you’d want to- That was stupid of me, sorry again” he looked down, fist tightening.  
  
“It’s not that I don’t want to listen to what you have to say” he tried explaining “you’re a very smart boy, Timothy. I’m sure you have many interesting opinions, but right now there’s nothing more important to me than keeping you safe.”  
  
“More important than the cases Rat solved?” he asked, looking at Bruce sceptically. He didn’t even look sad, just resigned, like he was used to being pushed aside for the sake of something else.

And he probably was, Bruce realized.

He decided in this situation it would be better to look less threatening. A big man like him must make quite a sight in his enormous chair behind the massive mahogany desk. So he stood up, made his way around the furniture and crouched in front of the boy.

"You’re a living person, Timothy. You deserve to be listened to" Bruce said earnestly looking straight into his eyes.   
  
“You… aren't very good at this, are you?” Tim mused with one eyebrow raised.   
  
Bruce sighed, was he this obvious? He thought he was doing fine so far. “So I was told” he agreed regardless.   
  
“That’s fine, I think I understood” the boy smiled and Bruce relaxed. “That doesn’t mean I’ll start listening to everything you say though and I told you to call me Tim!"    
  
“From what I’ve learned about teenage boys so far, I didn’t expect you to.” Dick, Jason and now Tim. It's like Bruce always chooses the most troublesome ones.

“Can I go back to explaining?” Tim looked at him earnestly and for the life of him Bruce couldn't say no, even though the matter of the boy's safety was the most pressing one.   
  
“Okay," Bruce stood up "but the discussion isn’t over yet.”

xxxxx

Some time later after all the cases were professionally explained by Timothy who, Bruce thought, must have been present at every point of Rat’s investigation to know the subject so thoroughly, the pair made their way down the stairs intending to ask Alfred for some lunch.

Bruce would make the boy eat a ton of food every day if it killed him.

They didn’t have to wait long for Jason to appear. If the boy knew Timothy was at his office earlier he’d probably be there too but he missed his chance. The three were seated at the table waiting for Alfred to serve the meal.   


“So, how is Rat as a person?” Jason asked the question Bruce ached to ask since the first package the other detective had sent. Bruce also noticed that for some reason the boy was nervous. He kept his eyes firmly on the napkin he was shredding.    
  
Timothy, transfixed on Jason's moving hands answered, clearly distracted. “Boring. Plain. Not very uh, liked by the people around him. I don’t want to say an outcast, but that would probably be the best description.”   
  
Jason stopped the shredding to finally look the other boy in the eyes.“Wow that’s sad.”

“Is it?” Timothy wondered, shaking himself out of the daze and looking back at Jason. ”I don’t think that, it’s the price he has to pay for being different. And that allows him to help, so” he shrugged “it’s good. No one disrupts his work at least.”   
  
Bruce decided to join the discussion from where he was seated at the opposite side of the table. “I don’t think that’s the case” he started “If he felt perfectly comfortable with his lonesome lifestyle he wouldn’t bother taking you as his apprentice.”   
  
Timothy’s smart eyes immediately snapped to his “Is that what happened with you?” he asked.   
  
That made Bruce stop, the transition between distracted chatter and suddenly having all of the boy's attention focused on himself made him believe the question was a deep one. “No, I did it for them" he answered without doubt.   
  
“But you wouldn’t bother to take Jason in if you felt perfectly comfortable with your lonesome lifestyle” Timothy recited looking unimpressed.   
  
Jason snickered “Oh Bruce Timmy got ya good, just admit ya were sad and lonely before ya stole me off tha streets!”   
  
That comment Bruce was going to ignore. “So you think a day with or without you doesn’t make Rat any difference?” Bruce countered, his eyes trained firmly on Tim.   
  
“No, I wouldn’t call it that, it’s more that I need Rat more than Rat needs me. Rat is a concept, there could be many other Rats under different names and they wouldn’t need boys like me. But I need this exact Rat to properly function.”   
  
A bad sign. “Are you suicidal?” Bruce immediately asked.   
  
Timothy’s eyes widened before he slowly turned to look at Jason “How do you get used to that?”   
  
The boy in question grimaced ruefully and patted the younger boy’s arm “Ya don’t.”   
  
Bruce’s brows creased in confusion “That question needs answering.”    
  
“Let’s go, I’ll introduce ya to Alfred.”    
  
“I've already met him, but I'll take the excuse.”   
  
The boys stood up and Bruce, dumbfounded, followed them into the kitchen. He felt like he was being made fun of.   
  
“Oh, Master Bruce, Master Jason, Mister Timothy" Alfred said before turning from the stove to look at them. Tim's brows creased.

"He's omniscient" Bruce heard Jason murmur to the other boy. "B's being weird so we came to see how's cooking going for ya" he continued louder.

"I appreciate your concern, Master Jason. The soup is almost ready" the butler moved his hand in the direction of the stove and everyone's eyes travelled to the pot and its marvelously smelling contents.

"Although I will have you know," Alfred started after a while "that cooking isn't as enjoyable without your help in the kitchen” Alfred smiled kindly, but Bruce could see him taking in Timothy’s lithe body with worry.   
  
"You cook?" Timothy asked, turning to the boy in question with wide eyes.

Jason's cheeks reddened. Bruce was slowly starting to get concerned, was the boy coming down with a cold? "Yeah, ya got any problem with that?" he challenged.

Timothy shook his head quickly "No, of course not. It's just- Robin cooks" the last part was whispered in awe.

"Yeah of course Robin cooks, what did ya think? I'm fourteen already!" the older boy exclaimed.

"What else can you do?" Timothy asked, eyes earnestly, full of the childish innocence. 

"What else can I…" Jason looked at the younger boy quizzically "What kinda question is that? I can do many things, ya hafta be more specific, Timbo"

"Like, what you do outside of Robin. Because I'm aware of Robin's skill set, buy what's Jason's skill set?" Timothy's intense stare didn't leave the other boy's face for a second. Both seemed to forget they weren't alone while Bruce and Alfred watched the exchange with interest.

Jason's eyes widened "You… want to know me outside Robin?" At Timothy's enthusiastic nod he continued, visibly thrown off "Oh, okay, sure. I, um, I read."

"What?" came immediately.

"Classic old literature" Jason murmured, eyes downcast. He must be getting anxious. Bruce knew Jason felt self-conscious about the fact that he liked books, something Bruce, unsurprisingly, couldn't understand. He always thought the boy should pride himself on his erudition.

Dick always liked games more than books. Which wasn't a bad thing, just a fact like any other about the boy. Little thoughts about him kept nagging Bruce's everyday life.

When Bruce looked back at Timothy the boy had his face hidden behind his hands and was peeking through his fingers at Jason, what was visible of his cheeks rosy. He uttered a mumbled "That's so cool."

"Ya really think so?" Jason asked with uncertainty.

"Of course!" He brought his hands down "The old ones are the hardest to read, the language in them is so weird. I don't know any person our age who likes them. You're unique."

The timer Alfred must've set earlier chose that time to ding startling the boys and breaking their little bubble before Jason could answer. 

"Now, please take your seats and I will deliver the meal shortly , " the butler announced.   
  
Timothy turned to him. “Oh if you don't mind I could also use a cup of coffee” he smiled politely.   
  
“A cup of… coffee” Alfred repeated with barely hidden horror.   
  
“Yes, no sugar.”   
  
The older man looked as if he was about to faint. “Do your parents give you coffee?”   
  
“I assume they don’t have anything against it since they aren’t exactly there to say no" Timothy continued seemingly unaware of Alfred's consternation.

Meanwhile the older man's eyes hardened in resolve. "Well, Master Timothy, now that you're under my care we'll have to change these bad habits of yours, drinking coffee being the first one I'm going to get rid of."

"Get- get rid of coffee?" Timothy's relaxed expression changed to one of utter horror. Then he turned to Bruce fast enough to get whiplash "I changed my mind, I'll never go out again. I'll give back your stuff and forget everything I learned, just. Don't. Take. My coffee."

The poor kid was panting by the end of his outburst, eyes wide and pleading. The three men stood in shock. 

Finally Alfred moved to turn off the stove before crouching in front of the distressed boy, unknowingly mirroring Bruce's earlier pose. "You'll have to excuse me, Master Timothy. I was not aware of the level of… attachment you held for the beverage," he put a hand on the boy's arm and squeezed gently "let's clear something up. I won't take it away all at once, we'll do it gradually, okay?"

Reluctantly, Timothy nodded.

"That's very brave of you, Master Timothy. Now if you could tell me how much coffee you consume so I could go on about decreasing the amount."

Timothy mumbled something in answer. At Alfred's encouraging look, he took a breath and repeated louder. "Three."

Alfred's brows creased. "Three weakly? That's… not great but not terrible either, we'll try two a week-"

"Daily" Timothy interrupted not looking Alfred in the eyes. The butler's hand that was still on the boy's arm squeezed harder, the man's expression going blank.

"Holy shit, ya broke Alfred with your coffee addiction!" Jason's exclamation seemed to break Alfred out of his daze because the man momentarily turned to the other boy. "Master Jason! Language!"

"And you brought him back with your swearing" Bruce noted dryly and got a look from Alfred for his trouble.

The butler sighed audibly "Okay, I'll make you half a coffee," he addressed Timothy who immediately brightened "please take your seats my boys. At this rate I'll be forced to reheat the soup" he finished with distaste clear in his voice.

"Sure, Alf! Let's go have a taste of heaven Tim-tam!" Jaso hung his hand around Timothy's neck and started pulling him in the right direction. Silently, Bruce followed the boys.

"Hey, do you think you could do that thing again?" He heard Tim whisper to Jason a few steps later.

"What thing?" The other boy whispered back. Bold of them to assume that would stop Bruce from listening in, Jason should know better. He probably did, he was just going along with Timothy.

Timothy's head turned to Jason. If not for the height difference the younger boy would be whispering in the other's ear, but as they were, Timothy's eyes barely glimpsed over Jason's arm. "The thing with the napkin" he answered, voice going even softer.

"Ya mean shreddin' it?" Came Jason's confused reply.

"Yeah, that was so cool. I'd never have the courage to do that."

Needless to say, the talk about the boy's relationship with his parents became of even higher priority than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on [Tumblr](https://sophie-vers.tumblr.com/)
> 
> And comment! I swear I live for your comments, they make my life so much better 🥺


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